New (and old) mixed-use building breaks ground on Broadway

A project that's been in the works for seven years broke ground today downtown. The Reckmeyer Residences will bring a new nine-story building combined with historic facades to Broadway.

The development, once known as the Broadway Lofts, is led by Basco of Michigan.

The mixed-use development will have 80 apartments over eight floors and retail/restaurant space on the main level. 20% of the apartments will be offered at 60% Area Median Income. The development will also include amenities like a fitness room, a community room,  and bike storage, plus an activated alley behind it, linking it to other developments on Broadway and Paradise Valley. 

During a ceremonial groundbreaking, officials talked about the initial process for redevelopment of the street. They wanted to see more foot traffic and retail. Roger Basmajian, founder and CEO of Basco, knew that the area needed more density in order to get that foot traffic, and Basco won the RFP process in 2017. 

The $38 million project is funded with help from Independent Bank, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the  Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, and the City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority, Kraemer Design Group is leading the design of the project.

100 years ago, the street was known for its retail offerings of women's apparel. 1322 Broadway was known as the "Chocolate Homestead" and was built in 1914, designed by Stahl, Kinsey, & Chapman. It's been home to the MacDiarmid Candy Company until
1927 and the Detroit School of Photography in the 1940s. 1326 Broadway was built in the late 1800s and was home to furrier A.W. Reckmeyer between 1893-1903 and Gustav
Zanger from 1904-1913. 1332 Broadway was designed by Louis Kamper and opened in 1904; it was home to the Michigan Cut Flower Exchange and then Detrola. 

The white terracotta facade of 1322 and the red brick facade of 1326 will be preserved for the development. 1332 Broadway was too far gone and structurally unsafe; it will be demolished and the facade will be rebuilt.

It's one of three major projects on that block. On the corner of Broadway and Grand River, Method Development is converting the Merchants Building into a new hotel. And Bedrock is converting the neighboring Harvard Square Centre into apartments. It's a huge turnaround for the block, which sits between the new Hudson's tower and Paradise Valley. The activation of these buildings will bring over 100 hotel rooms, apartments, and retail to a street that hasn't seen a lot of work in recent years.

The team is expecting the development to be completed in late 2025.