Oct. 28–A plan to turn the old Detroit Fire Department headquarters near Cobo Center into a boutique hotel took a big step forward today.
The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $5.84 million investment in the project. The hotel project is estimated to cost $28 million and will create almost 100 jobs.
The project will convert the former fire department headquarters and an adjacent vacant building, located at 234-250 W. Larned, into a modern 100-room boutique hotel with a first floor full-service restaurant and a small retail outlet. The hotel will be called the Foundation Hotel.
Michael Finney, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., called the project “another other milestone development for the city. This historic building exemplifies Detroit’s rich architectural legacy. When completed in time for the 2016 North American International Auto Show, it will be a new showcase of the city’s continuing revitalization.”
The project is located on the corner of Larned and Washington, adjacent to the Cobo Center. Developers have committed to saving at least some of the historic architectural features of the building and to highlight those in the interior design.
The development team, known as 250 West Larned LLC, is headed by Walter Cohen of locally based 21st Century Holdings and the Aparium Group, led by Mario Tricoci.
The Aparium Group has previously developed the Iron Horse Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, another large-scale historic adaptive re-use of an older building into a boutique hotel.
Cohen is the developer of Du Charme Place, a multifamily residential project in downtown Detroit that was approved for MSF incentives in August of 2014. Cohen is working to close that transaction and start construction.
Contact John Gallagher at 313-222-5173 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep.
