Restoration work begins on Fisher Building’s exterior and entrances

Preservation work is set to continue at one of Detroit’s most iconic buildings.

Owners of the Fisher Building announced that it began work this week to prep “Detroit’s Largest Art Object” for restoration of its exterior and entrances. Scaffolding is currently being erected to allow the team to survey its 325,000-square-foot marble facade over the next four months and craft a full rehab plan. The Fisher is the largest marble-clad commercial building in the world.

It will also soon begin long-deferred work to repair entrances on both Grand Boulevard and Third Avenue. Saying the new entrances will “last generations,” The Platform will replace concrete floors, repair steel supports, and add waterproofing.

In July 2019, the owners of the Fisher Building closed on a major loan refinance to continue much-needed maintenance and preservation efforts on the historic Art Deco building in New Center. According to the ownership team of The Platform, HFZ Capital Partners, and Detroit Rheal Capital Management, the new loan was done by Boston-based UC Funds and totals $36 million.

“We take the stewardship of this storied building seriously and are honored to be restoring it to its former glory,” Peter Cummings, executive chairman of The Platform, said in a release.

The team says it’s already spent millions of dollars on building maintenance and upgrades, including extensive masonry repairs, overhauled fire alarm and sprinkler systems, and elevator modernization, a new “environmentally friendly” HVAC system, and more.

The Platform and other partners bought the Albert Kahn–designed building in an online auction in 2015 for $12.2 million. Soon after, they announced up to $100 million in upgrades to the Fisher and adjacent Albert Kahn buildings. It has since sold the Albert Kahn building, which is being converted into apartments.

Over the past four years, commercial and office tenancy in the Fisher has continued to rise. In October 2019, Strategic Staffing Solutions announced that it would move all of its estimated 1,400 employees into the Fisher, making it the building’s largest tenant.