Another building renovation in the North End is making progress and will be finished this year. Just a few blocks east of the Fisher Building, D-Town Development is working on renovating 3040 East Grand Boulevard, former home of D-Town Records.
Jan Dijkers, President and Managing Broker at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services | The Loft Warehouse, bought the building in 2011. Todd Sykes, Vice President of New Development at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services | The Loft Warehouse, joined the team in 2016 and more plans started taking shape. After funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and Invest Detroit, approvals from the Historic District Commission, closing on financing, and COVID delays, work started last summer.
The three-story Albert Kahn building will be commercial on the first floor, and three apartments on the second and third floors. One apartment is designated for residents at 80% area median income. A second floor apartment may be rented to a commercial tenant, and the third floor apartment will be short term residential, according to Dijkers.
A lot of work has been done to the building in recent months, including framing, windows, and a new roof (you can follow along at their Instagram). But the biggest line item is the historic masonry restoration, including tuck pointing, replacing missing or damaged pieces, and rebuilding two porches on the 125-year-old building.
Dijkers says they hope to have the building completed by the end of June 2021.
The building sits in an area that's seen a lot of investment and renovations lately. Businesses have been opening along Woodward Avenue a block away. Across the street, the Platform is finishing a rehab of Chroma. And recently, the Knight Foundation awarded nearly $2 million in funds that will go toward equitable development, streetscapes, and adaptive reuse in the area.
