 
Royce
Member
Username: Royce
Post Number: 1681
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 1:09 am: |    |
The Wright Kay Building was on the auction block back in the fall. Has anyone heard about who bought it and what it sold for? Sadly, I drove by and the entrance way near the alley has been boarded up and windows on the upper floors have been broken like someone was taking target practice. This building is just too beautiful of a building to be destroyed by vandals or by neglect. Any updates? |
Royce
Member
Username: Royce
Post Number: 1685
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 8:23 am: | |
^bump |
Ocean2026
Member
Username: Ocean2026
Post Number: 181
Registered: 11-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 8:30 am: | |
what's the address of this? Did you check it on the Treasurer's website? |
Detroitrise
Member
Username: Detroitrise
Post Number: 3836
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 8:42 am: | |
It's the building on the NE corner of Woodward and John R.
(Message edited by DetroitRise on March 24, 2009) |
Ocean2026
Member
Username: Ocean2026
Post Number: 183
Registered: 11-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 8:43 am: | |
Ok the address is 1500 Woodward. ON the treasurers site there are several possible owners but Detroit Downtown Properties seems to be the main one.
Saw one website that said it was severely dilapidated as of 2005.
Definitely a pretty building go.
Umm Maybe someone from Detroit could tell you more. |
Russix
Member
Username: Russix
Post Number: 217
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 9:22 am: | |
what happened to the for sale sign and the 5 million dollar price tag? |
Suburbanbliss
Member
Username: Suburbanbliss
Post Number: 18
Registered: 02-2009
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 9:39 am: | |
I went to a fantastic party at the Wright Kay building perhaps nine or ten years ago. The actual jewelry store still retained all the original paneling, lighting fixtures and several spectacular Victorian bronze display cabinets. These cabinets were the size of large pool tables!
Just prior to the upper floors being offered as "lofts" all of the fixtures were sold to a New York jewelry firm.
Once the building use was changed to a nightclub the destruction of much of the original ground floor through remodeling and careless vandalism began.
I returned again a couple years ago and the loft areas still seemed pretty intact. Lots of ornamental plasterwork remained. I always admired the large windows with the etching of the Wright Kay logo. Those were a lot like the windows on the upper floors of the J. L. Hudson Co. etched with JLH.
Many more times than not, the use of a retail building changing from its original intention to that of an entertainment venue spells the end for any historic rehab efforts. Hopefully someone can purchase and restore this beautiful old building. |
Bigjeff
Member
Username: Bigjeff
Post Number: 200
Registered: 08-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 9:39 am: | |
Last I saw it was for sale for 1.9 million. Down from 2.5 million last summer! |
Suburbanbliss
Member
Username: Suburbanbliss
Post Number: 20
Registered: 02-2009
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 10:04 am: | |
When it was for sale last summer the nightclub portion still had the bulk of a long term lease to ride out. At that time the club intended to stay. The only option was to buy them out of the lease or enjoy the upper floors and deal with a nasty dance bar downstairs bumpin' all weekend long.
This fact discouraged many interested buyers. Is that club still in operation? When we were looking at the building the sea of flyers on the sidewalk, broken windows, smashed liquor bottles and valet nonsense seemed too much to overcome. Couple that with Oslo's DJ weekend nights across John R and the location did not lend itself to many evenings of peace for that price. |
Ptero
Member
Username: Ptero
Post Number: 197
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 6:36 pm: | |
Neat building. I worked on it when Haberman's went in. mmm, early 80's? Most of what we did was on the 1st and 2nd floor - for the store. But the fun part was rebuilding the top floor corner balcony. Spent a summer there, taking the train in each day from Pontiac, down the Dequindre Cut. |
Ocean2026
Member
Username: Ocean2026
Post Number: 186
Registered: 11-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 - 9:33 pm: | |
The building looks nice but $1.9 is still a lot of money for a Detroit investment. It could be economically impossible to lease it out profitably at anything near that price.
BigJeff who was the realtor? |