DETROIT, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- New York-based The Northern Group is acquiring the Lafayette Towers in the internationally acclaimed Lafayette Park just east of downtown Detroit in their continuing investment commitment to Detroit. The two Mies van der Rohe-designed 22-story apartment towers are a central piece of the larger 78-acre Lafayette Park which includes the largest collection of Mies van der Rohe buildings in the world.
The announcement was made by Northern Group principal and managing partner Alex Dembitzer. Terms of the acquisition from Chicago-based The Habitat Company were not released. Closing on the sale is scheduled for February 15, 2008.
Lafayette Towers joins The Northern Group's already substantial Detroit portfolio with Alden Park Towers apartments on the Detroit River east of downtown, and "The Downtown Collection" of legendary office buildings: First National, Penobscot and Cadillac Tower.
"We have a strong belief in the future of Detroit and an excellent history with our apartment rentals in Alden Park Towers," Dembitzer said. "We have nearly completed refurbishing the historic 400-unit Alden Park Towers residential apartments, which are currently 90 percent leased, on Detroit's riverfront."
Northern Group announced only last week plans for a new era in downtown Detroit living with an iconic $150 million Cadillac Centre mixed-use complex of apartments, shopping, entertainment, dining and public park-like spaces on the last open parcel around the new "town square" Campus Martius Park.
Cadillac Centre has been described by architectural critics as a global architectural destination, similar to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, or Chicago's Millennium Park.
Lafayette Towers includes 584 rental apartments featuring wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor window walls in aluminum and glass skinned towers as part of a complete community nationally recognized as a model of urban livability.
Each of the two towers has an abundance of amenities including: unparalleled views of the city and river, 24-hour attended gatehouse with concierge, fitness centers in each tower, heated outdoor swimming pool with sundeck, laundry facilities, cable and high-speed internet outlets, covered parking, air conditioning, and storage facilities. The beautiful two-story lobbies of each tower are lined with terrazzo floors and marble walls surrounded by floor to ceiling glass.
Lafayette Towers overlook a spacious 19-acre central park designed by famed landscape architect Alfred Caldwell with a network of walking and jogging paths connecting a mix of high rises, two-story townhouses, tennis and basketball courts, playground, elementary school, and small shopping center under a luxurious canopy of greenery with 50-year-old trees creating a quiet scene of lush landscaping with the feel of New York's Central Park.
The National Park Service listed the 78-acre Lafayette Park including Lafayette Towers on the National Register of Historic Places noting the exceptional world's largest collection of Mies van der Rohe buildings.
Manhattan Institute senior fellow Julia Vitullo-Martin called Lafayette Park "one of the nation's most beautiful residential developments" in a recently published national newspaper article. University of Pennsylvania professor of architecture Detlef Mertins called it "a little known jewel of modern urbanism" in the same article.
Lafayette Towers is one of the largest and purest examples of van der Rohe's style in the world. He also designed the Seagram Building in New York City, IBM Plaza and Chicago Federal Center in Chicago, Westmount Square in Montreal, and the Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto.
The Northern Group was established more then 20 years ago by principals committed to creatively readapting architecturally significant commercial and residential real estate in urban areas. Started in New York City, Northern Group acquires and transforms obsolete buildings and neighborhoods through sensitive rehabilitation, revamped infrastructure, and aesthetic improvements to create vibrant homes and workplaces. The Northern Group has branched into urban centers across the nation including Louisville, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Memphis and Detroit.
For more information on the Northern Group, please visit http://www.zul.com/.
Northern Group, Inc.
