The plan to turn the old headquarters of the Detroit Fire Department into a boutique hotel moved forward last week when Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on the $1.25 million sale of the historic building across from Detroit's Cobo Center.
Crain's Detroit Business, which broke the story in March that a hotel was being planned for fire headquarters, reported local developer Walter Cohen, owner of 21 Century Holdings LLC, said he and Chicago developer Aparium Hotel Group have lined up much of the $23 million needed for the 75-80-room hotel.
Reporter Sherri Welch writes:
"They plan to also seek historic preservation and brownfield tax credits to convert the five-story building at Washington Boulevard and Larned into a hotel that will emphasize the earliest days of Detroit, from its French roots to its days as a timber capital, to a manufacturing history ranging from bicycles to pharmaceuticals to automobiles."
Among other projects, Cohen co-developed the Stroh River Place apartments and townhouses in historically renovated buildings in Detroit with the late Peter Stroh and was general partner in the redevelopment and renovation of the Park Shelton, a hotel transformed into residential units.
Snyder's signature was needed on the plan because Detroit is operating under an emergency manager.
