The Platform has completed Piquette Flats, a historic industrial building that was renovated into 161 workforce apartments in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.
The $40 million project located just east of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum, at Piquette and Beaubien streets, is a four-story, L-shaped, 108,000-square-foot building that offers 71 studios, 87 one-bedroom, and 3 two-bedroom loft-style apartments.
Monthly rent for studios start at $1,115, one bedrooms at $1,319, and two bedrooms at $1,890. All units are priced below 100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) with approximately 40 percent of the units priced below 80 percent AMI, representing one of the largest new workforce housing developments in Detroit.
The Albert Kahn-designed building was the former Studebaker Detroit Service Building, built in 1920 to support operations at the sprawling Studebaker factory then located to its west. Studebaker also owned the adjacent Piquette Avenue Plant which it acquired from Ford in 1911.
Largely vacant since 2017, the Piquette Flats building was most recently used for document storage and limited office space.
PCI One Source Contracting renovated the building, while Kraemer Design Group provided architectural services. Piquette Flats was fully renovated both inside and out.
The loft apartments feature high ceilings, expansive windows, open ductwork, and exposed brick. Kahn’s signature martini-style concrete columns are integrated into the design of the space.
“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, CEO and executive Chairman 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.”
Historic architectural features were preserved and enhanced, while giving residents modern systems and amenities. For example, the original freight elevator doors are displayed throughout hallways and amenity spaces.
The redevelopment included the replacement of all building systems (electrical, mechanical, and plumbing), installing new, historically accurate industrial sash windows, restoring the original red brick façade, and adding a new roof and elevators. The project has also reconfigured 190 surface parking spaces on the site.
The property sits two blocks east of the Amsterdam QLINE Station, and three blocks southeast of Detroit’s Amtrak station with service to Pontiac and Chicago.
Other projects in the area included Chroma, the recently completed Chap Lofts condo conversion, and the $140 million redevelopment of the Fisher Body Plant 21, set to open in 2027. In total they represent more than 300 new residences.
Detroit Public Television recently announced their relocation across the street from Piquette Flats.
As a historic resource in the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District, Piquette Flats received both federal and state historic tax credits.
The City of Detroit has approved a 12-year $3 million tax abatement and $2 million of Brownfield Tax Increment Financing. In addition, the capital stack includes $7 million in the form of a low-interest loan from Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Michigan State University is an investment partner. The capital stack also included funding from Flagstar Bank as the senior lender.
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