A group of Cass Tech High School alumni, under the auspices of the Cass Tech Development and Preservation Society, has released a Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of the historic building. The due date for a response to the RFP is June 22. Depending on the number and quality of responses, CTDPS will move one or more development teams along to Phase 2 of the RFP which will call for more details.
The enormous size of the building (600,000 square feet) will necessitate creativity from any respondent, says Francis Grunow, executive director of
Preservation Wayne and a member of CTDPS. "I think a mix of different kinds of uses could make the building work," he says. Grunow sees a residential component as part of the redevelopment, and tosses out ideas like art studios and even a small school.
CTDPS is open to proposals that include scaling the building back. "One of the ideas is to take down the new wing on Grand River or retrofit it to allow for a shared parking arrangement with the new school. It would also take down some of the capacity of the school if it is too much for today's market," Grunow says.
Preservation Wayne is working with Detroit Public Schools on the project and potentially redeveloping other closed schools. Grunow thinks Cass' location makes it the ideal pilot school to work with. "It could be a bridge from the central business district to what is happening in the lower Cass Corridor," he says.
Read the RFP and check out University of Detroit Mercy's Detroit Collaborative Design Center's assessment of the building at
CTDPS' website.
Source: Francis Grunow, CTDPS and PW
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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