Detroit-based developer The Platform has started the renovation of the Piquette Flats building in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.
The project will transform an historic industrial building into 161 affordable apartments. All units will be priced between 60 percent-120 percent AMI (Area Median Income) with 60 percent of units priced below 80 percent AMI, representing one of the largest new affordable housing developments in Detroit.
The $38.2 million adaptive reuse will convert a 108,000-square-foot, four-story industrial building into 71 studios, 87 one-bedrooms, and three two-bedroom loft-style apartments ready for occupancy summer 2024.
“Adding workforce housing is critical for creating a Detroit where residents can get good-paying middle-class jobs and afford quality housing,” says Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “We are grateful that developers like The Platform continue to show their commitment to building housing that many Detroiters can afford to call home.”
“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, chairman and CEO of the Platform. “Piquette Flats allows us to repurpose this important historic building and provide affordable housing options for a diverse range of city residents.”
Piquette Flats benefits from local and state government support. 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 the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
“The Piquette project will not only renovate a historic building that contributes to a National Register Historic District, but it will also bring new vibrancy to the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood and much-needed workforce housing to the nearby Woodward corridor and New Center commercial area,” says Michele Wildman, executive vice president of economic development incentives for MEDC. “At MEDC, we are committed to supporting transformative projects that help create vibrant, resilient communities as part of our efforts to create a holistic, people-first approach to economic development in Michigan. We’re pleased to work with our partners to support this project and look forward to seeing the additional investment it will encourage in other Detroit neighborhoods.”
Expanding its commitment to Detroit, Michigan State University is an investment partner.
“MSU is pleased to be making an investment with The Platform in the Piquette Flats project,” says Phillip Zecher, chief investment officer for MSU. “This is an opportunity to invest with an experienced partner in a quality asset; the location is in an emerging area with the potential for long-term growth.”
The capital stack also includes funding from Flagstar Bank as the senior lender.
Piquette Flats will be fully renovated both inside and out. Historic architectural features will be preserved and enhanced, while giving residents modern systems and amenities. The redevelopment includes 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 interior design is meant to honor the building’s industrial heritage with loft apartments featuring high ceilings, expansive windows, open ductwork, and exposed brick. Albert Kahn’s signature martini-style concrete columns are integrated into the design of the space. The project will also reconfigure 190 surface parking spaces on the site.
Located at the corner of Piquette Avenue and Brush Street, 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 Motor Co. in 1911. Largely vacant since 2017, the Piquette Flats building was most recently used for document storage and limited office space. As an historic resource in the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District, Piquette Flats is eligible for federal historic tax credits. Federal tax incentives are available to stimulate private investment in the rehabilitation of historic structures.
“As a Detroit history museum, we could not be more excited about the activation of our city’s historic structures,” says Jill Woodward, president and chief operating officer of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum. “The automakers and suppliers in Milwaukee Junction represent the very beginning of the Motor City, so these sites give people a shared sense of our identity. The Platform is developing this former factory in a way that pays tribute to that.”
The project is near large institutions including Henry Ford Health, College of Creative Studies, Wayne State University, and the Detroit Pistons Performance Center, providing a natural tenant base among students, faculty, and staff.
Piquette Flats’ location offers excellent access to public transportation including the Q-line, major bus routes and major freeways. The property sits just two blocks east of the Amsterdam Q-line Station and three blocks southeast of Detroit’s Amtrak station with service to Chicago and Pontiac.
The general contractor for the project is PCI One Source Contracting and the architect is Kraemer Design Group.
