Now on to a more current project in Bay City.
The historic Crapo Building is receiving a major facade restoration and a conversion into a mixed-use building. The five-story structure is smack in the middle of downtown at the
213 Center Ave.. It was constructed in 1890 with Richardsonian-inspired detailing. Sadly, in 1960, as was often the case at the time, the owners decided they wanted to 'freshen up' the facade, and they covered up the entire thing with aluminum panels. The building quickly become known as 'the cheese grater.' Fortunately, much of the original facade was left intact beneath the 1960's skin, and in 2017, that cloak finally came back off.
Developer Jenifer Acosta has re-dubbed the building 'The Legacy' as a nod to its prominence in the downtown scene. She is maintaining a relatively-frequently-updated
facebook page with construction updates. The $12 million redevelopment to effort restore the facade and convert the interior into ground floor retail space with 26 apartments on floors 2 through 5 is expected to be completed Fall 2018. There will be at least one restaurant in the refreshed building. Quinn Evans was the Architect, and Detroit-based Grunwell-Cashero is doing the masonry restoration work. Some photos below -
An historic photo of the Crapo Building (c. early 1900's) -
Source:
Jenifer Acosta Development | Courtesy local archives
The 1960's facade (photo is from 2014) -
Source:
MLive File Photo
Removal of the exterior facade in July, 2017 -
Source:
MLive | Tori Schneider
With the 1960's facade removed (July 2017) -
Source:
MLive | Jacob Hamilton
An historic stair detail inside the building, taken July, 2017 -
Source:
MLive | Tori Schneider
The interior first floor, where Chemical Bank was the most recent tenant, in July, 2017 -
Source:
MLive | Tori Schneider
Construction progress photo - April 10, 2018 - a crane lifts new HVAC equipment onto the roof -
Source:
MLive | Jacob Hamilton
Interior Rendering - Living Room -
Source:
Jenifer Acosta Development
Interior Rendering - Kitchen -
Source:
Jenifer Acosta Development
An exterior rendering of the finished project -
Source:
Jenifer Acosta Development
Finally, here is a brief time lapse of those aluminum panels coming down. It's like unwrapping a present that has been sitting under the tree for nearly 60 years. How cool!
• Video Link