Elia Group buys again in downtown Detroit

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If the deal is completed, the sale price of 511 Woodward Avenue would be more than double the amount Wayne County had tentatively agreed to in 2015 with another potential buyer.

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511 Woodward Avenue, a former vacant bank building, is being viewed by the One Detroit Center on Thursday, August 27, 2015 in Detroit. Salwan Georges / Detroit Free Press(Photo: Salwan Georges, Detroit Free Press)Buy a photo

Oh, what a difference three years makes.

In a growing real estate market in the downtown area, Wayne County has reached an agreement in principle to sell an office building in downtown Detroit, near Campus Martius, for 4.65 millions of dollars, according to a joint press release released Sunday.

The agreement relating to the four-storey building of an area of 29,968 square feet located along Woodward Avenue, in the shadow of the huge building 40-storey Guardian, still to be approved by the Wayne County Commission. But if the sale price were the same, the selling price would be more than twice the amount tentatively agreed in 2015 with a different potential buyer.

The 511 Woodward construction agreement could also give the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the civic group looking for a street-level space, an important new address.

"This agreement will activate a space of choice between Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza, which has been vacant for years," said Warren C. Evans, Wayne County executive, in a statement released on Sunday. "This is the kind of public-private partnership we are involved in and which is another step in our recovery plan."

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Completed in 1972, the former glass-covered bank building is located at the extreme south of the QLINE. The building provides for two tenants on the first floor: an unidentified restaurant and a common reception center in downtown Detroit-Wayne. Above, there would be three floors of office space, including for the Downtown Detroit Partnership.

When Robert Ficano was County Manager, Wayne County was on the verge of selling the building for $ 1.8 million. The Roxbury group, based in Detroit, had signed a letter of intent to buy the property in June 2014, according to a previous Free Press account.

But the administration Warren Evans has terminated the interim sale after coming to power in early 2015 to explore other options.

"This sale represents a forward-thinking vision for Wayne County by embarking on an integrated development plan between the private, non-profit and public sectors," said Zaid Elia, President and CEO of Elia Group. in a statement.

The Elia Group acquires, manages and develops commercial properties in southeastern Michigan since 2008. It owns and operates the Ford Building, the Park Restaurant, the Detroit Fountain, the Anchor Bar, the 220 Merrill, the Rose Room at 220 and the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomfield. Hills Detroit, Zalmans and the Duke.

The proposed sale demonstrates how much the downtown real estate sales have diversified beyond the once ubiquitous role of Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert.

Gilbert moved his Quicken Loans headquarters from the suburbs to downtown Detroit in 2010 and quickly launched into a series of downtown property purchases. Today, he owns or controls over 100 prime properties, including many iconic downtown skyscrapers – the First National, One Woodward, 1001 Woodward and more.

County spokesman James Martinez declined on Sunday to say whether Gilbert's businesses had sought to buy 511 Woodward.