CLIENT: Bedrock Management Services
LOCATION: Detroit, MI
YEAR: 2016-2019
The Assembly is an adaptive re-use project completed in 2019 in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, just a short distance away from the Ambassador Bridge. The historic 5-story masonry warehouse building has large windows with breathtaking views of the Detroit River.
The program offers a vibrant and diverse experience, combining unique residential lofts, maker spaces, office, light industrial, future restaurant, and common lobby/event spaces into one location. The building footprint occupies nearly 160,000 square feet on the north side of West Fort Street between Rosa Parks Boulevard and 10th Street, one mile southwest of downtown’s Campus Martius Park. In addition to the renovation of the existing building, an additional story of residential lofts was designed and added with 50 below-grade parking spaces.
McIntosh Poris was responsible for both the core/shell and residential program. The first phase dealt with repairing the existing brick walls and replacing the windows. Stringent design standards were followed to meet Historic Tax Credit requirements. New steel awnings and large overhead doors were added at the commercial lobby space, which was formerly a loading dock. New elevators were added and the existing stairs were extended to the roof. Phase two focused on the residential portion, infilling on the existing fourth floor and building out a new fifth floor addition on the roof. The fourth floor units have ceilings with soaring heights and the unit designs accentuate the industrial character of the building. Each fifth floor unit has a large, personal rooftop terrace with various views of downtown Detroit, Corktown, and the Detroit River. The first, second, and third floors are currently being leased and are ready for a variety of tenants, from light manufacturing to office. Future plans for a new greenway that will interface with the west riverfront development are likely to make the basement level future restaurant space very appealing.
