King of the Castle
I love architecture. Most notibly in the D’. My favorite is Albert Kahn. Guess that’s why I reside in the Kales. Well, for those who whould like to own a landmark downtown, one is up for grabs. The GAR Building at Call and Grand River is up for sale.
Gawwwd, I love this structure. Have thought many times about what I would do if I owned it. Maybe a two floor, high end night club with lofts above. Maybe retail on the first floor and offices above. Built in 1900 and designed by Julius Hass, it was typical of a movement that produced castle-like structures marked by heavy stone blocks and arches. This magnificent structure served as a meeting hall for the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War. Since then the building was used off and on and was closed in 1973.
The City is making a serious effort to attract a buyer who would restore it. Tearing it down is not an option. They are requiring that any proposal must preserve the historic architecture. You can have the GAR Building for a paltry $220,500. That gets you in the door but it is estimated that it will take about a million more $$ to bring it back to its original condition.
Proposals are due no later than November 15th and various tax credits are available for would be developers. For more informantion, call Alesxander Pollock at 313-2241325. Just think, you could really be king of your castle.
What I’d do
I’m still with Tom on this one Medieval Times all the way. There is an “e-mail us your comments section on this site. I strongly recommend sending your picture and the link to this post and the last post (http://detroit.metblogs.com/archives/2006/08/the_castle.phtml#comments) we had. It would be a great tie in with the Michigan Renaissance Festival; both involve horses, swords, and dressing up. However, shopping and a club would be just fine with me as well.
I suppose the site would have been helpful
http://www.medievaltimes.com