The Detroit Free Press building is ready to undergo a massive renovation to change what was once a newspaper building into a mixed-use building with retail, office, and residential space. On April 25, Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group announced it was selected as the architect of record and historic consultant for the project.
The building, located at 321 W. Lafayette, is one of the last high-rises in Detroit’s downtown core that remains abandoned. The restoration will include structural updates, complete masonry restoration, new energy-efficient windows, and a new interior design that will better equip the building to handle its new mixed-use role.
Many of the 271,858-sf, 14-story building’s historic elements and details will be preserved. The rest of the structure will be modernized to eliminate any hint that the building was vacant for 19 years. “We understand the challenges and preservation techniques needed to maintain historic elements while adding modern amenities,” KDG Principal Brian Rebain says in a release.
Kraemer Design Group is no stranger to historic preservation in the Detroit area. The firm has also worked on the East Main Redevelopment in Milan, Mich., which earned a Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation.
The renovated Detroit Free Press building is scheduled to open in 2020.
Related Stories
Reconstruction & Renovation | Sep 30, 2020
SOM reimagines former Cook County Hospital into mixed-use destination
The project is the first phase of a proposed $1 billion redevelopment plan for the area in Chicago.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 24, 2020
Texaco’s century-old headquarters is now a luxury apartment community
After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the former home of Texaco, Inc. has been converted into a 17-story, 286-unit apartment building in the heart of downtown Houston.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 21, 2020
Reconstruction could be COVID-19’s silver lining
Existing buildings are being adapted to the ‘new normal’ for health and wellness.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 20, 2020
Former jail to be reimagined and integrated into Dallas’s Harold Simmons Park
Weiss/Manfredi was selected as the design architect for the project.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jun 8, 2020
Spacesmith will design sustainable production facilities for Upriver Studios in New York
The project will be located in Saugerties in upstate New York.
Coronavirus | Apr 9, 2020
COVID-19 alert: Robins & Morton to convert Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital
COVID-19 alert: Robins & Morton to convert Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 3, 2020
Not so strange bedfellows: hybrid buildings in New York combine unlikely tenants
“Found money” for owners looking to monetize their air spaces, says FXCollaborative, which has designed several of these buildings.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 16, 2020
Snøhetta’s 550 Madison Garden gains approval from NYC Planning Commission
The project previously gained approval from Manhattan Community Board 5 in December.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Nov 6, 2019
The silent giant: Reconstruction sector makes big impact on firms
More than a quarter of AEC firms that participated in the 2019 Giants 300 survey earned at least half of their total 2018 revenue from the reconstruction sector.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Oct 7, 2019
Central Park’s Lasker Rink and Pool to undergo $150 million restoration project
The project will be the largest the Central Park Conservancy has ever undertaken.
