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Sky Development to buy 1001 Woodward Building


Allan

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Sky Development to buy 1001 Woodward Building

A Macomb County development group has agreed to purchase the 1001 Woodward Building in downtown Detroit from the Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund.

Sky Development L.L.C. of Warren is purchasing the building from the pension fund, according to documents from the Detroit Downtown Development Authority.

Sky Development is a subsidiary of the Cavaliere Cos. of Warren. John and Lorenzo Cavaliere were not in the office late last week. Two Cavaliere companies are Boulder Construction and Medici Homes.

The deal was contingent on an approval from the DDA for the new owners to assume a loan and property sale previously granted to the pension fund so it could build a 450-space parking deck.

Those approvals, one for a $500,000 loan and one for the group to purchase property at 1075 Woodward needed for the parking garage project, were transferred to Sky Development last week.

Calls to the pension fund, pension fund adviser Milestone Realty Services and property manager Trizec Properties were not returned in time for deadline Friday. The DDA did not specify a purchase price.

The pension fund bought the 290,000-square-foot building in 1998 for $6.5 million and has spent more than $20 million since then to renovate it.

Other real estate sources said it's likely the new owners will consider a plan first considered by the pension fund to convert the top floors of the 21-story office building into condominiums.

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I should add that currently the building has a low occupancy rate, especially since the state of Michigan moved their offices to Cadillac Place in New Center. Downtown has a shortage of Class A office space, so adding this 8 story, 450 space parking garage will elevate it to Class A status. Also, 12,000 square feet of street level retail will be included, including a small downtown pharmacy. And the garage will be engineered to hold a certain amount of residential/retail space at a later time.

Not sure what's under those crappy metal facades, but I'm gussing it's either a historic brick or terra cotta facade.

lw06.jpg

The Freud Building (the one with Joy Fashion in it) and the Hughes and Hatcher Building will also be demolished for the parking garage.

lw07.jpg

lw09.jpg

It would be nice to at least save the Freud Building, and the Hughes and Hatcher also probably has a nice facade that's hidden. But at the same time, I'd rather have a parking garage with street level retail than four completely empty buildings. Fortunately, they did attempt to dress up the parking garage so that it fits in with the Woodward Streetscape a bit better. Construction is supposed to start in July...we'll see. Usually projects in Detroit never start on time, take way longer, and cost way more than anyone ever thought they would. LOL.

BTW, the photos were taken from International Metropolis.

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