A Chinese development firm that bought three downtown Detroit properties -- including the vacant Detroit Free Press building -- plans to renovate the 1920s-era structures.
JC Reindl of the Detroit Free Press reports the three buildings purchased at auction last year by the DDI Group, aka Shanghai-based Dongdu International Group, include:
■ The David Stott building, 1150 Griswold, sold for $9.4 million
■ The old Detroit Free Press building, 321 W. Lafayette, went for $4.2 million
■ Clark Lofts, 35 W. Grand River, fetched nearly $2.8 million
The Freep reports that the first building the company wants to renovate is the Albert Kahn-designed, vacant Free Press headquarters.
The company tells the Freep that it plans to make a $50-million investment to convert the building’s offices and newsroom into as many as 170 rental apartments with commercial space on the ground floor.
