Neighborhood
Milwaukee Junction
Address
2937 East Grand Boulevard
Project Type
Mixed-Use
Construction Type
Rehab
Original Date Built
1913
Date Complete
Summer 2019
Total Size
75,000 SF
Retail
9,500 SF
Co-Working/ Maker
282 Spaces
Event Space
6,500 SF
The vision is to catalyze historic Milwaukee Junction as Detroit’s preeminent neighborhood for the creative class.
Chroma is an existing nine-story building that will be transformed into a center for creativity, providing work space alongside cultural anchors of food, music, and exhibition. It serves the needs of creatives, offering co-workers a diverse community, makers with high-quality space, designers and artists with flexibility, aspiring chefs an opportunity to grow, and neighborhood residents with hands-on classes to develop craft skills and expand career choices. It also boasts a roof-top bar and a basement lounge.
Chroma was originally built in 1913 as a cold-storage facility by Rudolph C. Gernt. After many lives as storage and other programming, it’s exterior was brought to life in 2009 with the building’s signature 125-foot high “Illuminated Mural” by artist Katherine Craig. Now, in the heart of Milwaukee Junction, it is poised to contribute to the neighborhood’s rebirth while celebrating Detroit as a UNESCO City of Design. Along with the Platform's Piquette building two blocks away, Chroma offers a range of leasing opportunities for creative tenants.
Stage of Development ?At the foundation of mentorship is a transparency of knowledge and practice. We choose to share our projects as they unfold – through all parts of the development process.
Pre-Development
A developer sees an opportunity in an existing building or vacant land and tests possible ideas for development to determine if they should commit.
Design
The architect, along with engineers and contractors, collaborate with the developer to create a meaningful plan for construction.
Construction
The general contractor physically brings the design of the architect and engineers to life.
Leasing or Sale
The development is promoted to potential tenants who may be interested in leasing or purchasing available units.
Management
A property-management team manages the on-going daily operations of the development and the tenants.
Re-Financing
The owner may choose to re-finance or sell the developed property.
Photo by Ara Howrani
Photo by Ara Howrani
Exterior Rendering
On Community Engagement: As a creative space, outreach to the design, craft, maker, music and food communities is critical to informing and supporting the project through its development evolution and occupancy. We work with a variety of stakeholders from the Detroit Creative Corridor Center to the Center for Craft and Applied Arts, to neighborhood organizations and the City to ensure success at Chroma.
On Design Excellence: The design intention at Chroma is to celebrate the character of its concrete interior while opening up its brick exterior in a way that honors the building’s martini column structure, its past as a cold storage facility, and its notable mural. The interior is designed with a mix of utility and hospitality from the basement to the roof-top.
In the Neighborhood: Underground Resistance, Jam Handy, ONE Mile Detroit, Tangent Gallery, Piquette Plant Museum, Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, Russell Industrial Center, Howrani Studios, Motown Museum, College for Creative Studies, Shinola Factory Headquarters,and the Detroit Creative Corridor Center.
Transit: Bus #042; Q-line Station: Grand Blvd; MoGo Station: E Bethune St & Brush St
