 
Davetroit
Member
Username: Davetroit
Post Number: 3
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 11:50 am: |    |
Does anyone know what is now planned for the David Whitney building at Woodward and Park? There has been activity and 24/7 security there the past couple months. I talked with one of the security guards and he said that renovations are underway, but he didn't know anything about the scope of the project. |
E_hemingway
Member
Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 1102
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 12:28 pm: | |
I have also seen the increased security presence in recent weeks, although I haven't seen any construction activity there. There was a lot of work being done pre Super Bowl, but that all stopped shortly after the game ended. Big surprise. It could also have something to do with updating the People Mover stop there. |
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 3805
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 2:34 pm: | |
If something were in the works, we would probably have heard about it by now in one of the dailies or elsewhere.
Maybe Detroit city government started issuing tickets against the building owners fearing that scrappers and homeless people were starting to destroy this gem a little bit at a time.
Remember someone threw a chair from an upper floor into the skylight above the 4 story lobby a while ago (as seen in the Detroit Blog website). That chair was stuck into the skylight and didn't break all the way thru. |
Tompage
Member
Username: Tompage
Post Number: 9
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 2:39 pm: | |
I believe this is a Higgins property. Back in the fall, scrappers were breaking in off of Washington Blvd. I know it because I saw them and reported it. Shortly after, uniformed security was posted. Other than that, I don't think any other activity has taken place. |
E_hemingway
Member
Username: E_hemingway
Post Number: 1103
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 2:42 pm: | |
I think some management firm in Troy is in charge of the building, not Higgins. I heard a story a couple of years ago that some old guy out of state owns it but doesn't realize it and is so rich he wouldn't care if he did. |
Apbest
Member
Username: Apbest
Post Number: 474
Registered: 03-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 2:48 pm: | |
Higgins owns Broderick not Whitney I believe |
Crew
Member
Username: Crew
Post Number: 1137
Registered: 02-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 3:01 pm: | |
The Becker Family owes it. They made millions when they sold their Auto Supplier business in Michigan and Germany to Johnson Controls (JCI). One of the Brothers eventually bought back some of the Michigan operations from JCI. JCI kept the German factories.
Their original plan was to turn the building into a Hard Rock Hotel (different from Hard Rock Cafe). When that fell through, they had no back up plan for the building's use so it now sits empty. |
Deandub11
Member
Username: Deandub11
Post Number: 87
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 3:57 pm: | |
Yea I think the guy has a stake in other hard rock hotels around the country so Crew sounds about right. And yet I do keep hearing rumblings... |
Motorcitydave
Member
Username: Motorcitydave
Post Number: 1
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 - 4:57 pm: | |
I have seen security cars sitting by the Washington entrance too... for at least 3 months now, every day, 24 hours.
I always thought it would make a good home for Rock Financial/Quicken Loans when those rumors started popping up 6 months back. |
Hkytwn
Member
Username: Hkytwn
Post Number: 18
Registered: 06-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007 - 10:23 pm: | |
In early August I walked right in from the Woodward enterance..one of the pieces of plywood was loose. The glass celling above the lobby had the chair in it and was leaking water onto the marble floor. The buildings interior is in almost perfect condition...but there were sings of minor vandalism. The hose cabinet that the fire hose is kept in was opened and the fire hose was all over the floor as well as a buzzing alarm sound from a control panel on the wall. Glad to hear there is security around the building now |
Bibs
Member
Username: Bibs
Post Number: 676
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007 - 10:56 pm: | |
Motorcitydave - Yeah, I saw a guy sitting in a parked car on the Washington side of the building with an extension cord running from the car to the building. It was about a month ago when it was really cold. So it was a security guard for the Whitney. |
Bob
Member
Username: Bob
Post Number: 1411
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2007 - 11:29 pm: | |
I was just thinking about the Whitney Building when I was downtown last weekend and saw graffiti painted on the windows. |