Mindfield Pictures Plans a Renovation for Historic Castle-Like Building

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Crain’s Detroit Business reports that local media firm Mindfield Pictures proposed a $2 million to $3 million redevelopment initiative for the historic Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) building purchased from the city for $220,000. The vacant building is now owned by a partnership called NewGAR LLC which includes Mindfield principals David and Tom Carleton and Sean Emery.

Under the new plans the property will be used as offices, while the ground floor retail and restaurant spaces will be available for rent as early as 2013. Furthermore, the partnership announced its intention to dedicate some space to a memorial to Civil War veterans.

The building was designed in 1899 by architect Julius Hess in the castle-like Romanesque style, very popular back in the day, and it used to serve as a meeting point for Union Army veterans. According to the Detroit Free Press, some of the building’s original features—the castle-like lobby, the top floor meeting hall and the balcony—will be preserved.

Also featured this week in Crain’s Detroit Business is the sale of a 32,000-square-foot former General Motors ACG Penske facility on Oakland Avenue in Pontiac. The buyer, Lee Contracting Inc. which is headquartered across the street from the ACG Penske facility, at 675 Oakland Ave, acquired the property from RACER Trust at an undisclosed price and plans to transform the site into offices for the company’s 200 employees. Reportedly, the facility and the six acres of surrounding land were previously leased by Bloomfield Hills-based Penske Corp.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia