A residential tower in Midtown will add some much needed hotel rooms to the city. According to reports, the Plaza, just north of Whole Foods on Woodward, will convert from apartments to a new extended-stay concept through Marriott. The Roxbury Group renovated and owns the Plaza.
The 12-story building has 72 apartments, which will turn into 92 for the new concept. Current tenants can stay until their leases are up.
Marriott announced this week that reservations are open for its first Apartments by Marriott concept in Puerto Rico. According to Crain's, additional Apartments will open up in Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. These hotels won't be like traditional hotels with housekeeping, but will have separate rooms, laundry, and kitchens.
David Di Rita, principal of The Roxbury Group, tells the Detroit Free Press:
“The building has performed just fine since we opened it. Candidly, it was more of an evaluation of the evolving nature of the residential demand downtown. This allows us to reach a wider audience than the more traditional, unfurnished long-term lease approach that we’ve been following there."
The Roxbury Group has also worked on the David Whitney Building and Aloft, soon to be Autograph Hotel; the Element Hotel at the Metropolitan Building (also extended-stay); and the upcoming AC Hotel at the Bonstelle.
There's been a need for more hotel rooms in the Central Business District, and a few have opened this year. The Roost Hotel at the Book Tower is also an extended-stay hotel, and the Godfrey and Cambria Hotels have also opened. More hotel rooms would mean bigger events for the city. This spring, tens of thousands of people will come to Detroit for the NFL Draft.
The Plaza also sits next to the long-stalled development The Mid, which would have contained a hotel.
