The Ilitch organization has plans to spruce up and repair three long-vacant early 1900s apartment buildings that it owns near Detroit's Masonic Temple, to prepare them for what the project's architect has called future rehab and reuse.
The three boarded-up and side-by-side buildings are:
- The Manhattan Apartments, 2966 Second Ave., which reportedly dates to 1905.
- The Altadena Apartments, 2952 Second Ave., which dates to 1911.
- The Cromwell Flats, 2942 Second Ave., which dates to 1905.
Members of the Detroit Historic District Commission voted unanimously Sept. 9 in favor of a plan to "protect and stabilize" the trio of buildings, including with reconstruction of their deteriorating roofs and repair of masonry walls and damaged parapets, among other things.
That repair plan, drawn up by Detroit-based Infuz Architects, was presented to the commission meeting on the day of the vote by two members of the architecture firm. The plan's documents say
the work is intended to "prepare the properties for a future rehabilitation and reuse phase."
The Ilitch organization owns all three buildings through the limited liability corporation "Line Rock." So far, however, the organization's Olympia Development isn't offering any details about such a future redevelopment push.
"There are no redevelopment plans for the property at this time," Olympia Development said in a statement after the meeting. "Our immediate focus is ensuring the long-term integrity of these historic buildings. We look forward to sharing further updates as appropriate."
The Ilitch organization owns numerous other historic vacant properties in the neighborhood around the Masonic Temple, which is near Little Caesars Arena.
One of them, the old Fort Wayne/American hotel, 408 Temple St., is on the same block as the Masonic and has been slated for rehab as an 11-story, 149-unit apartment building as part of the $1.5 billion District Detroit megadevelopment approved in 2023.
That rehab work was slated to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. However, the District Detroit construction timelineis running behind schedule, and only one of the development's 10 projects is underway — a new residential tower at 2205 Cass for housing students and faculty of the future University of Michigan Center for Innovation.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ilitch organization to repair 3 historic buildings near Masonic Temple
