Start-ups and creatively inclined companies have rushed to fill up the space in the Elevator Building, leasing all but one space in the old warehouse-turned-office building next to the Chene Park overlooking the Detroit River.
The 20,000-square-foot building has nine companies occupying space on its second floor and another eight on the first floor. Among the companies leasing space are
M1/DTW, an architectural-design firm, and
Grit Design, a smartphone application company. Other companies include tech firms that deal with touchscreen technology and entertainment firms in both film and music industries.
"That's just what the economy is bringing me," says Randy Lewarchik, owner of the
Elevator Building. "All I'm doing is free Craigslist ads. I haven't paid for advertising for this building yet."
The 103-year-old building on Franklin Street has served as an industrial warehouse for most of its life, including a stint as a bootlegging hub for the Purple Gang, according to Lewarchik.
The 30-something developer bought the building a few years ago with the idea of turning it into condos. The housing crisis forced him to switch business plans, turning the building into a loft-style office space for small businesses.
All of the office spaces, which range in size from a few hundred to a few thousand square feet, are leased. One small space remains, but Lewarchik wants to rent it out to a bar or eatery. "I want something that would offer a benefit to the building that is socially oriented," Lewarchik says.
Source: Randy Lewarchik, owner of the Elevator Building
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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