The Bedrock-owned former Detroit News building at 615 West Lafayette is getting a new tenant. Raeden, "a digital infrastructure platform provider specializing in enabling technology deployments across real estate portfolios" according to a press release, is bringing the first carrier hotel to downtown Detroit.
The 0.4 MW facility will centralize internet connectivity for Bedrock properties across downtown. This will allow each of their buildings to access centralized internet services instead of having individual internet installations at each building, enabling faster service and cost-efficiency.
“The introduction and added value of the carrier hotel is a significant milestone as we continue to position Detroit as one of the most connected and technologically advanced cities in the United States,” said Michael Osment, Chief Technology Officer at Bedrock. “This is the first in a series of steps by Bedrock to strategically activate local technology assets to bring a faster, more efficient and readily available networking platform to the Detroit market.”
The center will open this month and additional data centers could be deployed in the coming months.
“We are thrilled to partner with Bedrock and view the Detroit carrier hotel as catalytic to our overall mission, which is to partner with real estate owners to optimize latent digital tenancy opportunities within their portfolios,” said Kari Schrader, Raeden’s Chief Executive Officer. "Through the development of the carrier hotel and future integration between Bedrock’s portfolio and Raeden’s services, we believe Detroit will become one of the most connected cities in the United States.”
Bedrock owns over 100 properties in Detroit, with most located downtown.
The Albert Kahn-designed building was opened in 1917 and was home to the Detroit News for nearly 100 years. The Free Press and News moved to the smaller Federal Reserve Building in 2014, and in the same year Bedrock purchased the property.
