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
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
URS, STV, Wiss Janney Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HOK, HDR top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 19, 2013
Renovation, adaptive reuse stay strong, providing fertile ground for growth [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Increasingly, owners recognize that existing buildings represent a considerable resource in embodied energy, which can often be leveraged for lower front-end costs and a faster turnaround than new construction.
| Jul 15, 2013
Developer plans to convert historic Kansas City high-rise to mixed-use with 55 new apartments
An $18 million redevelopment proposal would convert a historic Kansas City high-rise into a commercial/residential property.
| Jul 8, 2013
Unique Butte, Montana stained glass courthouse dome needs restoration
A unique stained-glass dome capping the rotunda at the Butte-Silver Bow County courthouse in Butte, Montana is in danger of being lost without a restoration.
| Jul 1, 2013
Tennessee utility earns first LEED-EB pilot credit after energy efficiency retrofit
USGBC awarded a LEED-certified plaque to the headquarters building of Chattanooga's electric utility, EPB, in June. It is the first building in the world to earn LEED certification using a new pilot credit for satisfying an energy pre-requisite in the LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M Rating System.
Sponsored | | Jun 30, 2013
Get your 'Early Bird' entry in for BD+C 30th Annual Reconstruction Awards
The deadline is for BD+C's 30th Annual Reconstruction Awards is July 19, but if you get me a draft of your entry by July 12 (earlier if possible, please!), we'll read it and give you feedback and suggestions that could help you win. We'll give you enough time to rework your entry in time to meet the deadline. We do this "Early Bird" service to help you put together the best possible entry - one that will answer any questions our distinguished jury members may come up with. However, we must emphasize that the BD+C Reconstruction Awards program is a juried competition, so there are no guarantees you'll win. We're just trying to improve your odds. Building Design+Construction is the only publication in its field to recognize the importance of reconstruction in all its forms - historic preservation, adaptive reuse, renovation, fitouts, and reconstruction with addition. And we've been doing it for 30 years. Incidentally, reconstruction accounts for 30-35% of all revenue for AEC firms, so it's a key component of the US/Canada design and construction industry. Send your draft entry to: rcassidy@sgcmail.com. And good luck!
| Jun 26, 2013
L.A.’s airport authority to spend heavily on terminal renovations, upgrades
Los Angeles World Airports, L.A.’s regional airport authority, is planning to spend slightly more than $4 billion on capital improvement projects during a five-year period ending in 2018.
| Jun 17, 2013
New North Tower opens at Greensboro, N.C.’s Moses Cone Hospital expansion/renovation
A $200 million expansion and renovation at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, N.C. reached a big milestone this month with the opening of the new North Tower.
| Jun 13, 2013
L.A.'s natural history museum completes reimagining of buildings and grounds
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles completed a full-scale transformation this month with the opening of its new Nature Gardens and Nature Lab and the Otis Booth Pavilion with an iconic Fin Whale specimen.
