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Jun 8, 2023

"This project is proof that something great can happen when you bring numerous passionate people together around a tremendous project," Gilbert told the crowd while standing at a podium in front of the nearly 100-year-old building. "Today's event is about so much more than a ribbon-cutting. It's about breathing new life into one of Detroit's most visible and historic landmarks. One that had been left neglected for far too long." Included in the project are 229 apartment units , a 117-unit Roost apartment/hotel concept , plus about 52,000 square feet of retail and office space. There is also an indoor-outdoor lounge, 3,000 square feet of co-working space and a large atrium with a 1920s skylight with 7,000 glass jewels and 6,000 glass panels, as Crain's has previously reported . Restoration work on the Italian Renaissance-style Book Tower, which opened in 1926, is being done by Brinker-Christman, a joint venture between Lansing-based The Christman Co. and Detroit-based Brinker Group; plus Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group on historic preservation and New York City-based architecture firm ODA on architecture and interior renovation. Credit: Nick Manes/Crain's Detroit Business “This project is proof that something great can happen when you bring numerous passionate people together around a tremendous project,” developer Dan Gilbert said Thursday of the redevelopment of the nearly 100-year-old Book Tower building in downtown Detroit. All told, the renovation of the Book Tower aims to harken back to the Detroit of the Roaring 1920s when that stretch of Washington Boulevard "was known as the trendiest part of Detroit, lined with some of the most prominent businesses, high-end shopping, upscale hotels and restaurants," according to Gilbert. "You will find many of these things when you go to the Book once again. But that's not where the story will end," Gilbert continued. "Our goal is to provide the spark that will ignite other businesses both small and large, as well as developers, to get involved attracting further investment, talent and exciting innovation to come here and be part of this." — Crain's Detroit Business Senior Reporter Kirk Pinho contributed to this report.