Olympia Development intends to turn the stately Detroit Life Building, a downtown high-rise at 2100 Park Ave., into residences and shops. The 90-year-old structure that preservationists have fought for was abandoned for more than three decades.
Details of the proposed renovation are still being worked out, said Olympia spokesman John Hahn.
The renovation is part of a larger $650-million project at the north end of downtown that was approved Wednesday by the Detroit Downtown Development Authority and is expected to take a couple of years to plan and build. Overall, the project includes a new, 18,000-seat arena for the Red Wings, as well as thousands of square feet of retail space.
“While plans are not finalized,” Hahn said in an e-mail to the Free Press, “the proposed renovation of the Detroit Life Building to include approximately 3,600 square feet of retail space and 35 residential units is an excellent example of how this catalyst development project will include a mix of residential, retail, office facilities and an events center in downtown Detroit.”
Opened in 1923, the 10-story Detroit Life Building was designed by Arnold & Shreve. The neoclassical structure was named after an original tenant, Detroit Life Insurance. But, in 1977, it closed, and it was left vacant. Other businesses that have occupied it include real estate, construction firms and street-level shops.
At one point, the building was slated for the wrecking ball to make way for a new development, according to historicdetroit.org, a website that documents the history of many of Detroit’s old structures and places.
But, preservationists took a firm stand.
“There’s a tendency to want to demolish buildings,” said Laura Ashlee, a historian with the State Historic Preservation Office in Lansing. “But, when you have buildings like this that are remodeled, it goes back on the tax rolls.”
Ashlee added that because the building is in a historic district, it is eligible for federal tax credits.
In the past 20 years, she said, there had been a significant amount of investment in rehabilitating historic property, and as an added benefit, more recently there is a trend of young people seeking to live in urban areas.
“Detroit is lucky because it has a lot of historic buildings,” she said. “These buildings are irreplaceable.”
