The former Detroit Free Press building and the David Stott skyscraper in downtown Detroit will be put up for auction next month, Louis Aigular reports in the Detroit News.
"Bidding for the two iconic buildings starts Sept. 9 at auction.com. The suggested starting bid for the 41-story David Stott building is $3.5 million. Starting bid for the Albert Kahn-designed Free Press building has not been determined, according to auction.com.
"The two buildings were bought several years ago by investor Emre Uralli, whose Luke Investments LLC represented a group of investors from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The group bought the Free Press building at 321 W. Lafayette for around $2 million, according to previous press reports. At one point, the building had $28.6 million in tax incentives to turn the vacant 16-story structure into a mix of retail and residential space.
"But there have been “ownership disagreements” among the investors, said Ryan Snoek, Detroit manager of Luke Investments. Further, a recent possible sale of the Free Press building failed when the potential buyer couldn’t come up with the funds."
The investor group bought the David Stott, 1150 Griswold, by purchasing the $700,000 loan against the building. After foreclosing and paying back taxes and bills, the group spent more than $1 million to create the Skybar lounge that is both on the first floor and 33rd floor. The Skybar will not be affected, Snoek told Aigular.
