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David Whitney Building Renovations Near Completion In Detroit (VIDEO)

By Edward Cardenas

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Construction crews are in the homestretch of transforming a historic and majestic building on the edge of Grand Circus Park from a medical offices into a mixed-use apartment and boutique development.

The 19-story David Whitney Building, built-in 1915 and vacant since 1999, has been undergoing an extensive $92 million remodeling to restore it to its former glory while making it functional for today's needs.

"We have had a lot of wonderful buildings turned back on in the last five or six years in Detroit," said David Di Rita, principal of the Roxbury Group, who described the materials used to build the David Whitney - terra-cotta, granite and marble - remained in good condition.

"We are working very diligently to maintain as much of that as possible inside and out," Di Rita added.

Whitney Partners LLC - a partnership of the Roxbury Group and Tran Inns Management, purchased the building in 2011 and began the restoration and renovation work in 2013 to transform the former dentist and medical offices into residential apartments and hotel rooms. Developers are planning on opening both the residential apartments and hotel on Dec. 15.

As crews work to meet the opening date, attention is being paid to both the interior and exterior of the nearly 250,000-square-foot building.

Crews are restoring the outside of the building with decorative molding and lions heads which will reflect the original design by architect Daniel Burnham.  Crews were also able to preserve 800 of the 1,100 windows.

On the interior of the building, the grand rotunda and atrium was restored with repairs to the terra-cotta, mahogany and marble in the four-story atrium and throughout the building. Modern lighting fixtures which reflect the original lights have been installed in the building. The historic trim in the mahogany around the windows were also replicated within the apartments.

The grand atrium will feature Aloft front desk, but also ground floor w xyz bar, re: mix lounge and a grab-and-go food shop on Washington Blvd. Along the Woodward frontage, chef Jacques Van Staden will open the Grand Cirque Brasserie, a casual and upscale French-American restaurant that will be open for break, lunch and dinner.

The 136-room Aloft will the third through ninth floor with stylish rooms featuring historic photos of Detroit.

On floors nine through 18, there will be 105-  one, two and three bedroom apartments which range from 569- to 1,876-square-feet which start at $1,000 per month. Exterior apartments features sweeping views of downtown Detroit, and some look into Comerica Park. Interior units have windows which look into the atrium, and receive natural light from the skylight in the atrium.

All apartments include granite counter tops, custom wood cabinets, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and are designed to the reflect the historic design of the building. While the building will feature Wi-Fi and other modern amenities, efforts were made to preserve the original character of the building.

In addition to the restoration work to the building, the Grand Circus Park People Mover station will reopen with its own elevator.

"This is what the building was meant to be," said Di Rita, of the adaptive reuse of the David Whitney. "It was an okay office building, but it is a beautiful apartment building."

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