DETROIT -- After years of neglect at several downtown Detroit properties owned by the Ilitch family, the Little Caesars empire announced redevelopment plans Thursday for several sites that, if successful, would change the face of downtown.
The proposals include redevelopment of the 1923 Detroit Life building in the historic area behind the Fox Theatre and an ambitious plan to find a developer and major tenant for a five-acre site at Grand Circus Park. The site includes the 1928 United Artists Theatre building and the former Statler Hotel parcel, which is owned by the city of Detroit.
The plans, which could continue progress spurred by Campus Martius, Merchant's Row and other Woodward Avenue projects, sparked optimism from historic downtown advocates.
"Downtown Detroit has seen the renovation of more buildings in the past couple of years than it has in the last 30, the last 50, and that is a very good thing," said Francis Grunow, executive director of Preservation Wayne and an outspoken critic of the city and other downtown landowners. "If they develop the United Artists Theatre building, it would be a great American urban achievement."
The building was a premier first-run movie house for United Artists when it was built. It became a recording studio for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra because of its fine acoustics before it was vacated in the 1980s, Grunow said.
Atanas Ilitch, the new president of Olympia Development -- the real estate arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc. -- announced the plans along with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick at the Fox Theatre on Thursday.
Ilitch, whose family owns the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, said he's also seeking developers and tenants for the site of the former Madison-Lenox hotel as well as the 101-year-old Fine Arts building at 44 W. Adams, just north of Grand Circus Park.
Despite the fanfare surrounding the announcement, many details are unknown, and most of the development announcement comes with no guarantees -- no confirmed developers or tenants, timelines, redevelopment costs or investment by Ilitch Holdings.
But insiders think there's a good chance something will happen.
"Demand is driving this stuff now. The Super Bowl and related activity helps with a momentum boost on top of what we're already seeing," said Colin Hubbell of the Hubbell Group, which developed midtown properties such as Canfield Lofts.
Hubbell pointed out that the Kales building at Park and Adams is a marker for downtown success: the residential loft building is sold out.
The announcement itself is an indicator of commitment, he said.
"For the Ilitches to come out of the closet, so to speak, for they have traditionally been tight-lipped, and talk about it in a positive way, that puts a lot of pressure on them. Once you put your mouth out there, there will be pressure from the city and the public."
Ilitch said he's been approached by several interested parties, and feels confident the projects will come to fruition. The United Artists/Statler redevelopment will have an added draw in that whatever business moved there, it would have its own People Mover stop, as does General Motors, he said.
Grand Circus Park is a "sleeping giant," that, once developed, will link the entertainment district around the Fox Theatre with the surge of development occurring in the lower Woodward corridor, Ilitch said. Olympia Development may develop the Grand Circus Park site in part or in whole, or it may find another developer, and the company is looking for a major tenant such as a Blue Cross or EDS to move its headquarters there, Ilitch said.
"I'm passionate about development, I'm passionate about history, I'm passionate about doing what's correct for our city and our area," Ilitch said. "We've been a part of the revitalization of Detroit, and we want to continue to be a part of it."
Grand Circus Park "is experiencing tremendous success, with over 10 million visits a year," Ilitch said. "Near the Woodward spine, there are very few large signature development opportunities of that size, stature and prestige."
The announcement marked a significant shift in message from the Ilitch family, which has been regarded as secretive and somewhat uncooperative when it comes to downtown properties that had fallen into disrepair, most notably in the recent demolition of the Madison-Lenox and neglect of the United Artists building.
Yet since the late 1980s, the Ilitch family has been a pioneer and significant catalyst in downtown Detroit, spending more than $350 million on the renovation and development of the Fox Theatre and surrounding properties as well as the 1 million-square-foot Comerica Park and other downtown land purchases and developments, such as Second City. The Fox is now a premier theater in the Midwest. The family has kept the Tigers and Red Wings downtown, and was instrumental in working with the Ford family in developing the dual ball parks for the Lions and Tigers.
The Ilitches credited Kilpatrick with fueling development.
"Quite frankly, he's one of the reasons we're so bullish on Detroit right now," said Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings. "He's a bold leader with boundless vision and great energy."
Also Thursday, the mayor announced the demolition of the Motown Building, at Woodward just north of Interstate 75.
"We're knocking it down right now," Kilpatrick said. The building was the headquarters for Motown during the recording studio's heyday in the 1960s, and Berry Gordy retains interest in the structure, Kilpatrick said. The site will be used for parking for the Super Bowl, and may eventually become the new home for the Motown Museum, Kilpatrick said.
"That's very sad," Grunow said. "It's been a long time that nothing has happened there, and there's not a lot we can do about it."
Some of the Tiffany art on the building is being preserved, he said.
Kilpatrick said he wants "to make sure we aren't just tearing things down but restoring the history and grandeur" of Detroit.
He said that until recently, the United Artists building was moving toward demolition. That changed when Atanas Ilitch took the helm in October.
Grunow said the appointment of Atanas Ilitch to the family's real estate division is an optimistic change.
"From our perspective, he's saying the right things. … Whether it results in 100 percent of the buildings restored or 50 percent, he's engaged in doing something creative," Grunow said.
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Originally Posted by Gecko
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