Detroit’s renaissance continues with the completion of the new AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle in Brush Park with overnight guests coming in January.
The Roxbury Group, a Detroit-based real estate and investment firm, partnered with Atlanta’s Peachtree Group to bring the 154-room, 10-story hotel to the corner of Woodward Avenue and Eliot Street.
The new hotel is within walking distance of Detroit’s Entertainment District, including Little Caesars Arena and Orchestra Hall. It will feature a roof-top venue and a glass-enclosed lobby bar called the Conservatory. The bar will serve gin-based cocktails and Spanish tappas-style small plants.
“This project by the Roxbury Group is a wonderful mix of new construction and historic preservation, which is what great cities do,” says Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “Not only will it bring some much-needed hotel rooms to the growing midtown area, but it will also beautifully restore the Bonstelle theater, giving it a new life.”
The group restored the exterior of the Bonstelle Playhouse to its original 1903 design by Albert Kahn, when it opened as Temple Beth El synagogue. The temple relocated in 1925 and was renamed the Bonstelle Playhouse after a theater company took it over. Since then, it has served a movie theatre and in 1951 Wayne State acquired the building and restored it to its use for live theatre productions until 2018 when it was decommissioned.
The AC Hotel will host several live productions in the restored theatre, starting next spring, officials noted. It also will be used for civic, corporate, and private events. Guests of the hotel gain direct access to the theater through the Conservatory.
The hotel’s overall aesthetic features neutral tones, inviting furnishings, and ambient lighting designed to reflect its uniqueness and character. The AC Hotel Detroit also will showcase curated art and “robust” libraries as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center. Additionally, a DIY lavender turndown service is available for each guest. This is the third AC Hotel in Michigan, and the first in Detroit.
Financing is being provided by Flagstar Bank, Bank of Ann Arbor, Invest Detroit, and Stonehill, a part of Peachtree Group. The AC Hotel Detroit at the Bonstelle will be Roxbury’s third hospitality project in Detroit, combining one of Marriott International’s select-service brands with an iconic historic property.
Azul Hospitality, which manages Roxbury’s Element Detroit at the Metropolitan and The Hotel David Whitney, Autograph Collection, will manage the AC Hotel at the Bonstelle. Design for the project was led by Stantec, interior design is by Patrick Thompson Design, and construction is being managed by Sachse Construction.
