The Metropolitan Building set to open after nearly 40 year vacancy

Crews are finishing up one of the most anticipated restorations in Detroit. The Metropolitan Building, vacant for nearly 40 years and once slated for demo, opens again on Monday.

The Element Detroit Hotel will open by the end of the year, but an event next week will open the Great Hall for media and guests.

Rendering courtesy of the Roxbury Group

The $33 million renovation has been led by the Roxbury Group, the Means Group, and other project partners. The Roxbury Group also led the renovation of the David Whitney Building, which is now residences and the Aloft hotel.

The 14-story building dates back to 1925. According to Historic Detroit,

“The Detroit architectural firm Weston & Ellington designed the wedge-shaped Gothic Revival-Neo Gothic Metropolitan, “a strikingly impressive building,” the Detroit Saturday Night wrote in July 1924. The building is adorned with escutcheons and pieces of armor to accent its Gothic look.”

At the official start of construction in 2017, a tree that had been growing on the roof—often seen on abandoned buildings in the city—was adorned with lights in the lobby. FYI, the tree is now on Belle Isle.

The Element Hotel will open by the end of the year with 110 extended-stay rooms. Other amenities and spaces are expected in the building.

It sits across the street from the almost-open Shinola Hotel, and around the corner from the recently-opened Siren Hotel at the Wurlitzer Building.

We’ll have photos of the renovation early next week.