Book-Cadillac Reuse Has Experts Wondering

Reportedly, Acquest Realty Advisors Inc. of Bloomfield Hills is courting Hilton, and that Higgins Development of Chicago is courting Marriott to refurbish the stately, historic old Book-Cadillac, one of the grandest of hotels in the city. At 32 stories tall with 1,200 rooms and about 800,000-sf of space, it's history includes gargoyles, three large crystal chandeliers in the ballroom and a treasure trove of copper and brass that has since been stripped off by vandals.

The renovation would create almost 500 hotel rooms and 100 condominium units, said Mike Blahosky of the CB Richard Ellis office in Southfield. He said his hat is off to those that want to make it work, but he told GlobeSt.com that he's a little puzzled.

"It's just simple math," he said. Currently, the city has about 2,800 rooms, mostly in the Marriott in the Renaissance Center. The three casinos said they're each building 400-room hotels. Ford Field, however unlikely, said it also wants a new hotel.

Yet the Detroit hotel market is as flat as the economy, Blahosky said, and not many people have indicated a desire to move into condos in Detroit's CBD district.

"They're not selling the hotel rooms we have now downtown, and we're going to get at least 1,200 more by 2005," he said. "It's like going to an office guy and saying, 'Look, we've got tons of vacancies and rents are way down.Why don't we build something?'"

It's common knowledge that hotels nationwide have suffered the last two years, Blahosky said, especially since Sept. 11, 2001. While the developers said they have interest from the two companies, though possibly just franchise interest, to build the rooms by the Super Bowl's debut in Detroit by 2006, Blahosky said it's unnecessary.

"The surrounding area, including the suburbs, has enough rooms to handle the Super Bowl crowds," Blahosky said. It will be interesting to see if banks will finance such a renovation plan that might glut an already full market, he said.

Currently, the city is trying to get tax breaks extended to the old hotel, including asking the state for Renaissance Zone tax-free status. The state will review the application by the end of the year, according to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

Larry Alexander, president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, said he is optimistic about the Book-Cadillac reuse plan, but was cautious with his praise.

"We'll have to see how this turns out. We've heard estimates it would cost at least $45 million to rehabilitate the hotel. But it would be great to have this grand dame back," Alexander said Wednesday.

The corporation and the Downtown Development Authority acquired the building from a collection of private investors through bankruptcy hearings after a two-year court fight to get the hotel under city control. Both the DEGC and the DDA want to either rebuild the hotel or tear it down, similar to the demolition of the popular J.L. Hudson's building Downtown three years ago.

There have already been a few assessments performed on the property, and some say the building is unusable due to water damage. The hotel was designed by architect Louis Kamper and is located in Downtown Detroit at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Michigan Avenue. At the time of its completion, it was the largest hotel in the world. It closed its doors in 1986 and has sat vacant, as many development plans have come and gone.