‘We’re Absolutely Thrilled:’ The Historic Obama Building Sees Major Renovations to Community Delight

The Obama Building received a much-needed facelift so to speak, and the historic building at the corner of Grand River & Lahser in Northwest Detroit’s Old Redford neighborhood is now open for business for commercial and private tenants.

The long-awaited renovation process included developing eight ground-floor retail spaces and the addition of four upstairs loft apartments, according to real estate developer, The Platform’s Facebook page.

The name, The Obama, according to obamabuilding.city, came from engagement with local businesses, residents, and city officials. It is a reference to the cherished mural by local artist Chazz Miller, which graced the building and provided its identity for many years, according to the website. The Mural will deservingly have a new home inside the renovated building, the website added.

On Nov. 16, Mayor Mike Duggan viewed the newly renovated Obama building, which received its $3.6 million funding from the development of the Mayor’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund, targeted to renovate neighborhoods in the city.

Renovations include four residential units – all of them reserved as affordable – and 12,000 square feet of rental space for new and existing business owners, according to the city’s Facebook post. Renovations began in November 2019 by The Platform and were completed this year.

John George, co-founder and executive director of Detroit Blight Busters told the Michigan Chronicle that the building was kept boarded up and secured for a long time by his non-profit organization and he is “absolutely thrilled” about the building’s purchase and renovation.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to see this kind of investment in northwest Detroit,” he said. “We have been working in this neighborhood since June of 1988 to stabilize and revitalize it.”

The efforts were not in vain, and he said that the work has been a collaborative process with Detroit Blight Busters and other entities to heavily spruce up the community.

“We’re starting to see some significant interest from investors in this community,” George said of the 103-year-old building’s developmental progress along with other investment endeavors positively impacting the area.

The Obama Building project came to fruition two years after Duggan announced that the Strategic Neighborhood Fund developments would extend to the Old Redford community, according to a Detroit News article, which added that it’s the first project there.

A neighborhood advisory council received public opinion on issues ranging from the type of businesses that will be allowed to the name of the building, the Detroit News article added. The council also will decide how any excess revenue from the building is used for community-facing activities.

The building will have four apartment units that will be offered at 60% to 75% area median income, according to the article.

The apartment units will be situated above the retail spaces and will include:

• Two studios renting at $775-$825 a month.
• One, one-bedroom apartment renting at $875 a month.
• One, two-bedroom apartment renting at $1,200 a month.

For more information go to obamabuilding.city.

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