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Bedrock Detroit has appointed New York City's ODA Architecture to reimagine Detroit's iconic Book Tower after acquiring the property in 2015. The firm's first project in the city, ODA will be responsible for upgrading the 38-storey building's internal programming and existing structures, resulting in almost 500,000 square feet of residential, hospitality, retail and office space.
The 1916-built Book Tower was designed by Louis Kemper in the Italian Renaissance style. Originally an office tower, Bedrock's plans had called for 95 residential units, 200 hotel rooms, over 100,000 square feet of offices, 50,000 square feet of conference space and 29,000 square feet of ground-level retail. The newest scheme more than doubles the number of residential units and approximately cuts in half the amount of office space.
An extensive exterior restoration has been underway for three years, involving the replacement of 2,483 historically-accurate windows, a full restoration of the building's cornice, and the return of an original glass skylight. The Book Tower's blocked-off atrium space is expected to be fully polished and opened to the public, with access to the 486,760-square-foot building on all four sides.
Bedrock says the redevelopment should be completed by 2022.
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