161 new apartments are now complete in Milwaukee Junction. Piquette Flats, an adaptive reuse of a former Albert Kahn industrial building, is now open.

The Platform led the $40 million redevelopment of the historic four-story building. It sits next to the Ford Piquette Plant, which is now a museum.

The Studebaker Detroit Service Building, designed by Kahn and opened in 1911, had been vacant since 2017. The 108,000-square-foot building is home to 71 studios, 87 one-bedroom, and 3 two-bedroom apartments. Rents range from $1,115 per month for a studio, $1,319 for a one-bedroom, and $1,890 for a two-bedroom flat. Apartments are renting below 100% Area Median Income; 40% are going below 80% AMI and are being marketed as workforce housing. 

The rehab includes the replacement of buildings systems, installation of historic sashed windows, a new roof and elevators, and restoration of exterior bricks. The loft-style apartments have the concrete Kahn martini columns, exposed ductwork, huge windows, and exposed brick. 

An apartment in the Piquette Flats. Shelby Dubin Photography

“Milwaukee Junction is the birthplace of the U.S. auto industry where, in the early 20th century, manufacturers sprang up around the Milwaukee and Grand Trunk railroad lines," says Peter Cummings, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Platform. "We are pleased with the outcome of this ambitious project and repurposing this important historic building to provide new residential living options for the City of Detroit.” 

It's one of many developments in Milwaukee Junction and the surrounding areas. The redevelopment of the Fisher Body 21 Plant will add over 300 apartments to the neighborhood. Detroit Public Television is moving its headquarters nearby. Fortescue is building an EV manufacturing plant on Piquette. Work started earlier this year on another auto building conversion at the former home of Cadillac Motors, which will add another 90 apartments to the area. Across Woodward in New Center, the Future of Health Development is adding a medical research center from MSU, along with upcoming residential and office buildings. 

For more photos of the Piquette Flats, see the gallery at the top of the page.