An Alcove room with its distinctive sloped window . Photo credit : Nicole Franze |
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acquiring and developing more than 140 properties in Detroit and Cleveland .
Their efforts to make Detroit a place “ to live , work , stay and play ” crystallize in Shinola Hotel , a boutique property named for the luxury goods retailer rooted in the city ’ s history and culture , which celebrated its fifth anniversary in June .
Its reputation as “ Detroit ’ s Living Room ” was put to its greatest test in late April , when
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the city hosted the 2024 NFL Draft , drawing more than a reported 775,000 visitors to Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza just two blocks away .
Leber spent much of the draft sprinting with his team from one downtown Bedrock property to another , calling it “ two and a half days of insanity .” Detroit ’ s evolution is underway and he credits the Shinola as a catalyst for changing the narrative . “ People are talking about the city in a different way ,
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and I think the hotel did a lot to amplify that message ,” Leber said .
NOT ENOUGH ROOM Shinola Detroit creator Tom Kartsotis and Dan Gilbert of Rocket Mortgage , Shinola Hotel ’ s first investors , agreed that the Detroit of the future needed a quality hotel to serve guests and residents alike in equal glamor . As their cornerstone they chose a 100-year-old former Singer
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Sewing Machine headquarters on historic Woodward Avenue .
But transforming the property would take five years and a hardy logistical imagination to complete . One of the biggest initial challenges was that the developers couldn ’ t get enough rooms into the blueprint . They had to expand to an adjacent property , move the existing tenants , build an additional structure over a former parking lot and connect it with a four-story bridge to the
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The lobby area of the Shinola Hotel . Photo credit : Nicole Franze |
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San Morello is Chef Andrew Carmellini ’ s urban Italian neighborhood restaurant . Photo credit : Nicole Franze |
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80 hotelsmag . com July / August 2024 |