88-Unit Condos to Replace Motel

A condominium development is in the planning stages to replace the Select Inn on East 11 Mile near Main.

Motel owner David Gottleib agreed to sell the property to Chicago-based developer Morningside Group after a police drug investigation found more than 50 felonies that resulted in 13 arrests in October, City Attorney Chuck Semchena said.

The motel is still occupied by tenants, he said. However, after the property is transferred to the developer, it will be demolished and an 88-unit loft-style condominium project will be constructed on 1.7 acres on the corner of East 11 Mile and Curry.

“That’s a very good site for redevelopment,” said Semchena, who hopes the project will lead to more on East 11 Mile. “That stretch appears ripe for development.”

The $22 million project, SkyLofts MarketSquare, will consist of five floors of residential units on top of a heated and enclosed parking garage with 94 spaces, said Nico Schultz, development manager for Morningside. There will be 77 additional parking spaces on a surface lot.

The one- to two-bedroom units will be between 900 and 2,500 square feet and will cost from the mid-$200,000s to the mid-$600,000s, he said. The second and sixth floors will have terraces on the east end.

Schultz expects the project’s site plan to get final approval from the Planning Commission in May with demolition immediately following. The project is expected to take 15 months to complete.

The developer, which was responsible for constructing the SkyLofts mixed-use development on Main and Fourth streets, is not worried about the competition from downtown’s other condominium projects.

“We’ll provide downtown access and the conveniences of all the downtown amenities because of the close proximity,” Schultz said. “Some people like to live right in the middle (of the downtown action), and some people like to live in easy walking distance.”

Semchena said the Planning Commission is expected to review an office building site plan in April to replace the Comfort Motel on Woodward, which was razed in December. A site plan for the redevelopment of the nearby Dunes Motel property has not been submitted.

Click here to visit the SkyLofts MarketSquare website!