The crumbling example of an Art Deco hotel, Lee Plaza in Detroit will be brought to life with a whooping $200 million renovation
The Lee Plaza is an empty 15-story high-rise apartment building situated about one mile west of New Center along West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. Lee Plaza was originally designed as an opulent high-rise hotel along West Grand Boulevard, but it was later converted into an affluent apartment complex with hotel facilities. It is a 15-story building designed by Charles Noble and built in 1929 that is an exemplary example of Art Deco architecture from the 1920s. Outside, the edifice was decorated with sculpture and tiling, and it competed with the Book-Cadillac and Statler Hotels for architectural attention in Detroit during the 1920s. Following the economic downturn, the apartment changed hands numerous times, eventually becoming a senior citizens’ complex until shutting as a dwelling in the early 1990s.
On November 19, 2015, developer Craig Sasser stated that he would acquire Lee Plaza from the Detroit Housing Commission for $258,000, and that he will begin a $200 million makeover of Lee Plaza and the surrounding region in January 2016, with completion in late 2017. The redevelopment will contain 200 luxury, market-rate apartments, as well as the rehabilitation of two neighboring lots and many other new construction projects, including single-family homes, apartment complexes, low-income housing, and some commercial assets. The building rehabilitation will cost around $34 million, with an additional $50 million set aside for the surrounding lands. Lee Plaza and the surrounding neighborhood are projected to cost around $200 million to rebuild.
