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DETROIT-A renovation launch date for the historic 14-story Lafayette Building is in the sights of Coral Gables, FL-based Peebles Atlantic Development Corp. The condominium conversion project, estimated at a cost of $40 million, is slated to begin some time during mid-2006.

"We'd like to start working on the building by summer, and we're very close to that," says R. Donahue Peebles, president and CEO of the development company, which will be renamed Peebles Corp. on Jan. 1. "We're likely to be done within 12 months of that, but hopefully we can improve on that timeline."

Peebles, who acquired the 1924-built Lafayette Building at 132-144 Lafayette Blvd. during the early part of 2005, plans to develop approximately 125 luxury one- and two-bedroom condominiums in the 234,250-sf space, which will be marketed at a sales price beginning at $400,000 per unit. He tells GlobeSt.com that the condos will go to market some time during the second quarter of 2006.

"On average, the units will be 1,000 sf, but some will be close to 2,000 sf," he says. "The idea here is for those who work Downtown, to live Downtown."

Peebles says at this time his company is making a decision on whether to bring in outside help in marketing the condominiums. "On projects in the past, we did our own sales, but here, we're considering the possibility of hiring an outside brokerage firm to do that," he says.

Instant Insights /

Lafayette Developer Eyes Mid-Summer for Launch of $40M Renovation

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