Bedrock, Riverfront Holdings Grab More Real Estate in Downtown Detroit
Riverfront Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of General Motors, grabbed four properties near the Detroit riverfront area and east of the Renaissance Center, while Dan Gilbert added two buildings and a vacant parking lot to his 8.2-square-foot real estate empire.
By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
Riverfront Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of General Motors, grabbed four properties near the Detroit riverfront area and east of the Renaissance Center. As first reported by Crain’s Detroit Business, the acquisition encompasses three vacant buildings totaling nearly 31,000 square feet and a 0.8-acre surface parking lot. While the financial terms haven’t been disclosed, Crain’s said that the buyer was represented in the transaction by the Detroit office of CBRE Inc.
The largest and oldest asset in this bulk acquisition is the 12,700-square-foot structure sitting at 260 Schweizers Place that used to house the night club called Vondie’s on the River. The two-story building was constructed in 1885 and was previously owned by Handy Parking Inc.
The second building is located at 673 Franklin Street and has 9,600 square feet. According to Crain’s the 36-year-old building was previously owned by R.D. Franklin LLC and housed the Club Waterfall nightclub, McNarney’s Public House and a restaurant called Currents.
The third building that Riverfront Holdings purchased last month is an 8,400-square-foot office structure located at 672 Woodbridge Street, while the surface parking lot is located at 689 Franklin Street between St. Antoine and Schweizers Place.
Another deal that recently made headlines involves Bedrock Real Estate Services, which reportedly acquired two mid-sized office buildings and a vacant lot in Detroit’s Capitol Park, adding more than 50,000 square feet to Dan Gilbert’s 8.2 million-square-foot real estate empire.
According to MLive.com, two of the properties—a six-story, 35,000-square-foot facility at 119 State Street and a five-story, 11,500-square-foot facility located at 45 W. Grand River Avenue—are in bad shape and will probably be redeveloped into retail buildings with apartments on the upper levels. The empty lot at 28 W. Grand River Avenue will be replaced by a new mixed-use building that will include apartments and ground floor retail space.
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