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Rental choices in rehabbed and new Detroit buildings include The Albert, The Scott and Philip Houze. Four more are coming -- The Elliott, The Randolph, James Place Lofts and Gabriel Houze.
What's up with these bro-buildings?
It's a marketing hook for millennials, developers believe. Because of course.
"It creates a personality for the building," an executive at the National Apartment Association tells The Washington Post in a Friday feature on that city's tenant towers with human names. The capital's more diverse collection includes The Liz, The Tiffany, The Lacey and The Adele.
Style section reporter Lavanya Ramanathan writes about what she calls "residential anthropomorphism:"
Amid a crowded field of rooftop pools and 24-hour concierge services and doggy spas, developers . . . are turning to cutesy human names to help their swanky apartment buildings and condos seem not only livable, but relatable — and many are picking names that match those of the millennials they want to attract.
"We've seen Nora, the Catherine. I've actually seen the Josh," says Jamie Matusek, president of the Austin-based branding marketing firm Catalyst. . . . A human name, Matusek says, can help imbue a cold, glass-and-exposed-brick faux loft with "authenticity."
Detroit has at least seven examples standing or rising in Midtown, Brush Park and downtown, including two that carry guys' names with 20th century roots.
The Albert, open since 2014 with 127 apartments at 1214 Griswold St. in the Capitol Park Historic District, is a 1929 landmark designed by Albert Kahn. Renovations cost $8 million.
Gabriel Houze, now pre-leasing, had been the Gabriel Richard Building during part of its 104 years. Now the 10-story tower at Michigan Avenue and Washington Boulevard will have 388 apartments with one or two bedrooms. It was headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit from 1948 until 2015. And yes, that quirky "z" is part of the branding.
These five other residential buildings also have first-name "personality:"
- The Scott, open since late 2016 at 3150 Woodward Ave. in Brush Park. The marketing pitch boasts about "24/7 concierge service," "our private reading room" and the ability to "sip a craft cocktail as you relax on the second-floor outdoor pool deck."
- The Elliott Building, 10 Grand River Ave. downtown, will have 23 "luxury apartments" -- "including bi-level penthouse units with amazing views of Woodward Ave. and the Shinola Hotel."
- Philip Houze, 415 Clifford St. at Bagley downtown. "Formerly the historic Rockwell-Standard Building, its original finishes are preserved," posts the Houze Living group of West Bloomfield, which is behind this project and five others.
- James Place Lofts, 11 two-bedroom condos coming to Brush Park at 262 Mack Ave., will "unite regal historic living with modern luxurious amenities of new Detroit."
- The Randolph, coming at 139 Cadillac Square with studios, one-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom units, plus bike storage and a fitness center. "Luxury awaits."
Gabriel Houze, spelled like that, is "coming soon" to Michigan at Washington Boulevard. (Illustration: Houze Living)
