Watermark Offers High-End Living on the Detroit Riverfront

A few weeks ago, I took a few minutes out of my day to check out The Watermark Detroit sales office in downtown Detroit.

All I can say is: wow. Dave Bing et al spared no expense on the Watermark model, which aims to give prospective buyers a taste of what life at this luxurious, $60 million waterfront community would be like.

Featuring cool touch-screen computers that allow you to play around with different floor plans, plus a beautifully-decorated, life-size condominium unit, The Watermark Welcome Center and Luxe Model, as its being called, is worth a visit even if you are only entertaining a possible move to Detroit's ever-transforming riverfront.

And transformed is what it will be when this project comes to fruition. Featuring 112 luxury condominiums ranging from 1,388 - 3,600+ square feet, the Watermark is set to take the east riverfront to a whole new level.

A gated community located just steps from the Detroit RiverWalk, the Watermark Detroit features 34 unique floor plans based on three main home styles: the nine-story contemporary Tower Residences, which offer a metropolitan feel with spectacular river views; the Marina Homes, which feature patios overlooking Tri-Centennial State Park, and are designed to be reminiscent of sea-side homes; and the City Homes, along Atwater Street, characterized by urban design and private garages.

All homes will have dramatic viewing terraces or patios, open floor plans and state-of-the-art gourmet kitchens. Modern design is echoed in every detail, from glass-enclosed showers to floor-to-ceiling windows. Units start at $300,000 and run upwards of $1 million.

The expected completion date of Detroit's newest and most luxurious residential riverfront project is the fall of 2009.

Welcome Center hours are Tuesday-Friday 11 am-5 pm, Saturday 11 am-3pm, and Sunday and Monday by appointment. The site is located at 2122 Atwater Street in Detroit, between Chene Park and Tri-Centennial State Park Marina.

For more information, visit The Watermark Detroit on the Web or call 313.852.7000.

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Lafer Building Reopens

Following a $5 million renovation by Mercier Development, Detroit's Lafer Building has reopened.

Located on Broadway, the Lafer Building features 16 loft-style apartments featuring granite countertops, polished concrete floors and maple cabinets.

The two-bedroom units range from 1500 to 1800 square feet. Rent will range from $1,250 for two-bedroom/one bath units to $2,000+ for penthouse units.

Built in 1916, the building once housed Lafer Brothers Grocery.

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Northern Group Continues Expanding Detroit Real Estate Portfolio

Just days after announcing Cadillac Centre, a $150 million residential, retail and entertainment project planned for downtown Detroit, Northern Group principal and managing partner-Alex Dembitzer today announced that his company is acquiring Lafayette Towers, part of the Mies van der Rohe Residential District located just east of downtown Detroit.

Lafayette Towers joins The Northern Group's ever-growing Detroit portfolio, which currently includes Alden Park Towers, the gorgeous Tudor-Revival style apartment complex on the Detroit River, and the First National, Penobscot and Cadillac Tower buildings downtown.

"We have a strong belief in the future of Detroit and an excellent history with our apartment rentals in Alden Park Towers," Dembitzer said. "We have nearly completed refurbishing the historic 400-unit Alden Park Towers residential apartments, which are currently 90 percent leased, on Detroit's riverfront."

Lafayette Towers includes 584 rental apartments which feature wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor windows in aluminum and glass.

Each of the two towers has an abundance of amenities, including city and river views, 24-hour attended gatehouse with concierge, fitness center, heated outdoor swimming pool with sundeck, laundry facilities, cable and high-speed Internet outlets, covered parking and storage facilities. The two-story lobbies of each tower are lined with terrazzo floors and marble walls and surrounded by floor to ceiling glass.

Lafayette Towers overlooks a spacious 19-acre central park designed by famed landscape architect Alfred Caldwell. The park contains several walking and jogging paths that connect a mix of high rises, two-story townhouses, tennis and basketball courts, a playground, an elementary school and a small shopping center. The central park is part of the larger 78-acre Lafayette Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The van der Rohe Residential District celebrated 50 years in 2007.

Lafayette Towers is one of the largest, purest examples of Mies van der Rohe style in the world. A pioneer of modern design, van der Rohe is also credited for the Seagram Building in New York City, IBM Plaza and Chicago Federal Center in Chicago, Westmount Square in Montreal and Ontario's Toronto-Dominion Centre.

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$150 million Downtown Detroit Project Planned

If you missed yesterday's Free Press, then you missed this exclusive John Gallagher article about the planned $150 million residential, retail and entertainment project planned for downtown Detroit. 

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and developers will announce details about the monumental project, known as Cadillac Centre, on Wednesday at 11 am.

According to the article, Cadillac Centre would include "two, 24-story apartment towers connected by a 12-story link that will house a six-screen movie theater, health club and spa, restaurants and stores." 

The project, slated to break ground in 2009, would be located on a surface lot on Monroe Block near Compuware and Campus Martius Park.

If the project is seen through to completion, it would contain 84 apartments, a 30,000-square-foot market, 125,000 square feet of retail space, a 40,000-square-foot public park and 800 parking spaces.

And it will also be green -- topped off with a "22,000-square-foot so-called living roof that would collect and filter rain water and help control energy consumption." 

Privately-held, New York-based real estate firm-Northern Group Inc. would build Cadillac Centre and own it. Northern Group is best known around Detroit as the owner of the Penobscot, First National and Cadillac Tower buildings.

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Antique chairs and sideboards and tubs -- oh my!

Gail Geer appreciates the unique architectural elements that characterize many of Detroit's older homes and buildings - and she knows that other people in the area do, too.

So when she and members of her development company, Renevatio, realized they couldn't reincorporate all of the original features inside the El Moore, their current restoration project, Geer came up with an idea: hold an auction.

Scheduled for Saturday, April 28 from 1 to 3 pm, the auction will feature a number of items from 1890 - 1920, including solid oak paneling and doors; claw foot tubs; oak fireplace mantles; sideboards; mirrors and more. Photos and measurements of some of the pieces up for grabs can be viewed here, but other items -- wrought iron fencing, radiators, hardware and fireplaces -- are being kept under wraps until auction day.

Besides being a cool event for local antiques-lovers, proceeds from Renevatio's auction will benefit Affirmations and Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, two local non-profit organizations.

Interested in attending? Prospective bidders should arrive at the El Moore Condominiums located at 624 Alexandrine in Detroit's Midtown area (Google map) by 1 pm to preview items; the auction begins at 1:30. No RSVP is required, and the auction is open to the public.

Need more information? Click here or call 248.398.7105, extension 27.

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Ground broken on massive Gardenview Estates project in Northwest Detroit

If you live near the former Herman Gardens site in Northwest Detroit, take a good long look at it the next time you pass by - the barren 139 acres you're used to seeing is about to get a major makeover.

Last month, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Assistant HUD Secretary-Orlando Cabrera and the Detroit Housing Commission (DHC) broke ground on the area, which is being developed into a 920-residence community called Gardenview Estates.

The development, which is set to include single-family homes, lofts, condominiums and townhouses, will include market-rate housing (a mix of rentals and residential sales).

The new community will also be home to Detroit's new NFL Youth Education Town - a 35,000 square foot facility scheduled to open in May 2007. New retail and green spaces are also likely in the future Gardenview Estates neighborhood.

Infrastructure installation - new lighting, roads, sidewalks, water and sewer systems - is currently underway. Construction on the first phase of the housing of Gardenview Estates is set to begin this summer. Overall, the projected investment of the project tops $227 million.

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Room with a (spectacular) view

Imagine living high atop downtown Detroit.

Look out one window and catch the final inning of a heated Tiger game. Look out another and you've got a bird's-eye view of a summer concert at Campus Martius Park. You have an aerial perspective of Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade and your home is one of the best spots in the city to watch the annual Freedom Festival fireworks.

Walk a few steps out your front door and a host of amenities lie at your disposal. There's an on-site concierge to tip you off on the hottest happenings this week, and a doorman to greet you and provide that extra set of hands when yours are full of grocery or shopping bags.

You have access to a state-of-the-art fitness center to keep you in tip-top shape along with and an indoor heated pool and whirlpool to provide a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Some of the best retail shopping in Detroit is located just floors below, so you'll never have a problem finding that perfect birthday gift for a co-worker or the right outfit to wear to that important meeting.

You won't have to drive much - an assorted collection of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues lie just blocks away - but in the rare event you do need a set of wheels, there's no need to park or retrieve your car; the valet service will handle that for you.

Don't feel like going out for dinner tonight? Not a problem - you have 24-hour room service available at your beck and call.



In just a few short years, Detroiters living in the luxury condominiums on the top eight floors of the beloved Book-Cadillac on Washington Boulevard will enjoy these first-class amenities and panaromic views of the city, the Detroit River and Windsor.

How can you secure a spot at what will undoubtedly become one of Detroit's most sought-after addresses? You could wait for the grand opening, scheduled a few months from now, but as one of the largest and most important residential developments Detroit has seen in decades, the 67 luxury condominiums planned for the new B-C will go quick.

If you really want to live in the future pinnacle of downtown Detroit, Esquire Properties invites you to attend a pre-grand opening on Saturday at the Detroit Athletic Club.



Jon Grabowski, President of Esquire Properties, says the pre-grand opening or "selection phase" will allow interested buyers the opportunity to choose a condominium before the grand opening sales period. Purchases made at the preview event are eleigible for one-day-only special pricing:

"Pre-release pricing begins at $280,000," Grabowski says. "We anticipate opening a Welcome Center in December with prices starting at $320,000."

What do buyers get for the money?

Besides panoramic views of the city, the Detroit River and Windsor and access to all the amenities at the four-star Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel, buyers at the Westin Book-Cadillac Detroit Residences qualify for three tax incentives upon purchase: a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) property-tax abatement that severly reduces property taxes on the residence for 12 years; a State of Michigan Renaissance Zone tax abatement, which gives buyers a 100% tax exemption on city and state income taxes, as well as Detroit utility-users tax, until 2015; and a one-time historic tax credit, which is transferred to the buyer at closing and can be used to offset personal income taxes.



One-bedroom condominiums at the new Book-Cadillac will be 950-square feet; two-bedroom units will be 1,500-square feet. Six penthouse units, ranging from 2,300- to 4,500-square feet, are also available.

The pre-grand opening of the Westin Book-Cadillac Detroit Residences is set for 11 am on Saturday, October 14. A 5% deposit of the purchase price is required to reserve a unit for purchase.

For more information, please visit Esquire Properties on the web or call 313.580.2200.

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