Good things come to those who wait and downtown Royal Oakians have been waiting a while for a project with the urban promise of Eight 55 South Main.
The five-story mixed-use building will bring in the holy trinity of urban vitality by providing space for office, residential and commercial uses. Buildings like these typically enhance the walkability of an area, especially when replacing a vacant lot like Eight55 is supposed to do.
Construction starts have been promised for a year but work looks like it will finally begin later this summer or early fall. If all goes well, the building could be open for business sometime in 2009, bringing yet more vitality to its corner on the south side of downtown.
The developer and its architect, Damico Development and Archive DS respectively, are reconfiguring the building at 855 S. Main St. so it will include 18,000 square feet of Class A office space on the second and third floors. Loft-style condos are set to go in the fourth and fifth floors. The first floor will be dedicated to 9,500 square feet of non-restaurant retail space so future residents won't have to put up with the noise and smells of food service directly below them.
The building had originally been designed to house 50 loft-style condos, but Damico cut that number by nearly half so it could add office space and make it easier to sell the units in a tough market. The lofts include high ceilings, hardwood floors, granite counter tops and private balconies that are worked into the building so they aren’t hanging out over the street.
For information on the development, call (248) 458-1122.
Source: Mark Nickita, principal of Archive DS
Writer: Jon Zemke
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.