A Burnham Building Will Be Born Again as the Aloft Downtown Detroit
There is hope after all for Detroit! Late-breaking news today brings the excellent announcement that Starwood's Aloft chain of hotels will add a Motor City location come 2013/2014. Just as you'd suspect, they'll be utilizing one of the city's many abandoned buildings, but not one that's been left to rot; the lucky structure is the David Whitney Building, a 19-story architectural piece of pride and joy.
The plan for more than just the revitalization of the Daniel Burnham-designed building with an Aloft, but also apartments and retail. If you've ever been in downtown Chicago and looked up at some of the classic Burnham structures (many of which also house hotels) and felt the desire to live in one, it may be possible soon in Detroit, likely for cheaper than in the Windy City.
But back to the Aloft for a moment. The Detroit Free Press notes that the plan calls for 136 rooms with the signature Aloft budget version of W Hotel modern, tech-friendly style.
This won't be an airporty Aloft, but a downtown one, within sweet walking distance of Comerica Park, Ford Field and the Fox Theater. It's also convenient to a couple of the city's casinos, and, speaking as someone who has done the Ambassador Bridge hop to Windsor for the day and thought "let's get out of here—there's no hotel worthy staying over," it's just going to be a huge breath of fresh air.
[Photo: HotelChatter]
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