N.Y. firm buys Detroit landmarks
Improved Penobscot and First National buildings are part of over $500 million in Super Bowl investments.
By R.J. King / The Detroit News
Image <http://www.detnews.com/pix/2005/09/18/biz/b018-penobscott-0905y_09-18-2005_ T08J2AD.jpg>
Daniel Mears / The Detroit News
The Penobscot building, above, and the First National building have received more than $40 million in upgrades in recent years.
Image <http://www.detnews.com/pix/2005/09/18/biz/landmarks.gif>
DETROIT -- Two downtown landmark office buildings -- the Penobscot and First National buildings -- were sold last week to a New York-based investment firm, following more than $500 million in recent investments in downtown Detroit's emerging Campus Martius Park district.
The two structures have received more than $40 million in upgrades in recent years, including high-speed Internet connections, heating and cooling systems, windows, along with new stores and restaurants. The buildings, which are each 65 percent occupied, were bought by New York-based National Investor GS Equities for an undisclosed sum.
The Campus Martius Park district is drawing other investment as the city prepares to select a developer for up to 400 homes and retail and entertainment venues on the vacant Monroe block at Woodward Avenue and Cadillac Square from several proposals, while the former Hudson's site is being considered for residential and retail uses.
More than $500 million has been invested since 2002 around Campus Martius Park, a $15 million public square at Woodward and Monroe that opened last fall. Last week, the city completed the sale of the 12-story Vinton Building at Woodward and Congress.
The structure, which has been vacant for more than 20 years, will be converted into lofts and a men's clothing store. Several investors, led by former Detroit Lions player Robert Porcher, plan to complete the lofts next year.
Porcher and partner Frank Taylor, who co-own Seldom Blues restaurant at the Renaissance Center, plan to open The Detroit Breakfast House & Grill at Woodward's Merchant's Row next month.
"Our goal has been to improve downtown Detroit for the Super Bowl and beyond," said George W. Jackson Jr., president of Detroit Economic Growth Corp., a quasi-public development agency in Detroit. "We have made more than $50 million in public improvements to Woodward Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Broadway and other areas, and the private sector is taking notice."
In February, the National Football League will host its annual championship game -- Super Bowl XL -- at Ford Field. The event is expected to generate more than $300 million in economic activity and draw 100,000 visitors. More than 25,000 hotel rooms have been reserved for the game.
"The improvements in downtown Detroit and New Center have caught our attention and helped convince us to take on the management and leasing of the Penobscot and First National buildings," said Andrew Farbman, president of Southfield-based Farbman Group.
Every city block that borders Campus Martius Park has received new investment, including a $54 million office tower to be called One Kennedy Square by Southfield-based Redico. The 10-story glass structure, to be occupied by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young and the information technology group for automotive supplier Visteon Corp. <javascript:companybox('VC')> , among others, is scheduled to open in the spring.
In turn, the city is negotiating with Florida-based Peebles Atlantic Development Corp. to redevelop the vacant Lafayette Building into a $40 million, 110-unit luxury condominium project. The 1001 Woodward office tower also is being converted into luxury condos, while a two-story retail plaza is planned at the front of the granite structure overlooking Campus Martius Park.
Cadillac Square, a former bus depot, will be renovated next year into a $3 million plaza offering new lighting, landscaping with trees, gardens and the restored Bagley Fountain, which has been in storage.
You can reach R.J. King at (313) 222-2504 or rjking at detnews.com
