Architecturally daring Cadillac Centre announced, will break ground in 2009

Critics of the latest wave of buildings in Detroit often point out their overall lack of an architectural statement. The newest building to be announced in Detroit, Cadillac Centre, aims to squash that complaint with its daring design.

The $150 million mixed-use development will rise on the Monroe block, filling the last vacant parcel abutting Campus Martius. Park downtown. Notable for its lack of public subsidy, Cadillac Centre will entail two 24-story sculpted glass and steel towers rising from a 12-story base and will connect to Cadillac Tower, which is already owned by the project’s developer, the Northern Group.

“We believe in the future of
Detroit,” the Northern Group’s principal and managing partner Alex Dembitzer said in a statement. “We are creating a unique complex
that will not only revitalize downtown Detroit living, shopping and
entertainment, but will also stir the imagination and excitement
about Detroit’s future and what we believe it will become in
the 21st century. Cadillac Centre is a natural extension of our
organization’s business model of creating value in urban areas
across the nation.”

Cadillac Centre will consist of 84 apartments, a 40,000-square foot public park, a 30,000-square foot market, a multiplex cinema, more than 100,000 square feet of retail, a 14,400-square foot health spa and 800 parking spaces. The 22,000-square foot roof will be “living,” designed to filter rain water and increase energy efficiency.

The project architect is Anthony Caradonna, the principal of OPUS Architecture and Design Studio, Inc. and was the former director the undergraduate program at Pratt Institute‘s school of architecture. Two of his recent projects include the Hotel Duomo in Molfetta, Italy, and Bar Solex
in New York.

In Detroit, the Northern Group also owns the Penobscot Building and the First National Building. They expect to break ground in September 2009 and complete construction in 2011.

More details on the project, including the structure of its private financing, will be released on Jan. 9. Model D will update readers in its Jan. 15 issue.

Source: Northern Group
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh