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Piquette Flats
Rehabilitation of the Studebaker Service Building into Piquette Flats, Detroit
Albert Kahn designed this four-story reinforced concrete building for the Studebaker Corporation in 1920, in an era when car companies were expanding at a feverish pace. Studebaker used it as a tool and die shop, to assemble chassis, and for painting. After serving in a variety of other industrial uses, it was recently used for storage. A complete rehabilitation project began in 2023 to convert the building into 161 apartments, providing much-needed workforce housing in the historic Milwaukee Junction neighborhood.
Rehabilitation work restored the historic character of the exterior, repairing the red brick walls and replacing the large, infilled window openings with custom, functional replicas of the originals, based on historical photographs. On the interior, careful wall placement preserves the architect’s iconic ‘martini’ columns, celebrating the building’s structural identity. Following the Secretary of the Interior Standards, the rehabilitation utilized both Federal and State Historic Preservation Tax Credits and also received support from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program. The total rehabilitation investment was nearly $40 million.
Rechristened as Piquette Flats, the adaptive reuse of the former Studebaker Service Building has brought new activity to an area that had been largely vacant for years, while providing a new affordable housing option in this part of the city.
The Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation recognize standout projects across both peninsulas, exemplifying the collaboration and deep impact preservation can have in Michigan communities. Congratulations to: 411 Piquette LLC; Kraemer Design Group; PCI Dailey Contracting; Grunwell – Cashero; and Graham Architectural Products.
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