Historic Detroit Apartment Building Rises From Ruins With $10 Million Makeover [VIDEO+PHOTOS]
DETROIT (WWJ) - An 111-year-old apartment building near Wayne State University in Detroit is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a $10 million makeover.
Scott Lowell, who purchased the Forest Arms apartment building after a devastating fire in 2008, is excited that tenants will once again be walking the halls come move-in day on May 1.
"It was a very arduous thing," Lowell told WWJ's Vickie Thomas. "It took us six years to get to the starting line here and it's been two years on the project."
And now, crews are in the home stretch. After countless hours and lots of blood, sweat and tears, Lowell said the building nicer than ever before.
"The hallways are a little bit wider, the kitchens are a little bit nicer and we've got a few more amenities like a rooftop deck for all the residents here," he said.
Some projects are still under construction, but Lowell is confident things will be ready come May.
"It's going to be close," he said. "We've got some trim work we're working, you can hear the sanders and tools going off in the background here. We're doing some work on the upper floors, some tile work, and we have some finishing work outside and then we'll do some landscaping."
The building is also going "green."
"We have a geo-thermal heating system here, we have 27 geo-wells that are 375 feet deep and that provides all the heating and cooling for the building," said Lowell. "We have a 16,000 rain reclamation tank that we're going to reuse that rain water, and we have a solar component to our hot water system."
So far, demand for the building has been great, with about 70 percent of its apartments taken.
"We have 70 units right now and I believe that we have 21 that are available," said Lowell.
The Forest Arms is located 4625 2nd Avenue in Detroit. For information on leasing available units, call 313-757-0259.
