Lafayette Building

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name = Lafayette Building

| built = 1923
use = vacant
location = 144 West Lafayette Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan USA
roof = 55.5 m
top_floor =
antenna_spire =
floor_count = 14
floor_area =
architect = Charles Howard Crane; Elmer George Kiehler; Kraemer Design Group| skyscraperpage_id = |

The Lafayette Building is an unused high-rise office building located at 144 West Lafayette Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1923 and occupies a triangular lot, bordered by Michigan Avenue, West Lafayette Boulevard, and Shelby Street. The building stands at 14 floors in height, with one basement floor, and 13 above-ground floors.The office building was designed in the neo-classical architecture style, and is built with mainly brick, limestone, and terra cotta.

The building contains convert|178|ft|m of frontage along Michigan Avenue, convert|168|ft|m of frontage along Shelby Street, convert|135|ft|m of frontage along Lafayette Boulevard, and is convert|85|ft|m in length along its east facade which stands mid-block. After years of mismanagement, and a declining tenant base, the building was finally shuttered in 1997. Two restaurants, Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island, both which claim to be the first coney island restaurant in the United States, are located at the foot of the building on West Lafayette Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.

Redevelopment plans

The Peebles Atlanic Development Corporation announced on December 15, 2005, that it planned to convert the Lafayette into one of Detroit's premier condominium buildings at a cost of more than $40 million. The residential conversion would have included refurbishing the historical exterior and the interior, which would have included 125 modern units with uspcale amenities such as a fitness center and ground floor commercial space. The renovation of this building was slated to start in the summer of 2006 with a completion sometime in the summer of 2007. However, the developer failed to come through with the money and the building remains abandoned.

On November 13, 2007, the City of Detroit offered Quicken Loans the Lafayette Building for $1 as part of their major redevelopment of downtown Detroit. Quicken has a year to choose the site of their headquarters (Hudson or Statler/Tuller Blocks) and to study the redevelopment of 2 parking lots on Library and Broadway and the Lafayette Building. If redeveloped the 2 parking lots and the Lafayette Building will become a mixed-use building of retail, offices, and residential space.

References and further reading

*Cite book | author=Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher | title= AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture| year=2002 | publisher= Wayne State University Press | id=ISBN 0-8143-3120-3
*Cite book | author=Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A.| title=Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition | year= 1980| publisher= Wayne State University Press| id = ISBN 0-8143-1651-4
*Cite book | author= Sharoff, Robert | title=American City: Detroit Architecture| publisher=Wayne State University Press| year=2005| id=ISBN 0-8143-3270-6

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=144+West+Lafayette+Boulevard,+Detroit,+MI&ie=UTF8&ll=42.331428,-83.048792&spn=0.002249,0.006394&t=k&om=1 Google Maps location of Lafayette Building]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=118543 Lafayette Building details at Emporis.com]
* [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=23689 SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on the Lafayette Building]