10-04-2025
Work stoppage, cost overruns delay office-to-housing conversion in Detroit
Cost overruns and a work stoppage have delayed completion of an office-to-housing conversion project at an 18-story downtown Detroit building.
The development team behind the Residences @ 150 Bagley project, which is transforming the long-empty United Artists Theater office tower into 148 mixed-income apartments and commercial space, recently disclosed that the project's costs have risen by $8.5 million to $85.1 million and that it needs some financial assistance to close this gap.
The building, located at 150 Bagley, dates to 1928 and is owned by the Ilitch organization, although the redevelopment is being handled by a local development team that includes developers Emmett Moten Jr. and Richard Hosey.
According to a memo shared Wednesday with members of the Downtown Development Authority, the development project's contractor, a joint venture between the Christman Co. and Detroit-based The Brinker Group, issued a work stoppage in early December "due to a disagreement with the developer regarding increased costs and change orders."
The matter was later settled in mediation with an agreement for increased construction costs, the memo said.
The development team is now asking the DDA, the city of Detroit, the Invest Detroit Foundation and several other entities for assistance to help cover the new gap.
The project is currently 86% complete, according to the DDA memo, and if the new money comes through, it could be completed by August. The redevelopment got started in spring 2022.
Moten told DDA board members Wednesday afternoon that some of the delay stems from the pandemic, and some from having to source elevators from China rather than Texas.
'So the project got delayed … and the contractor got behind schedule because of these factors," the developer said via phone to the DDA members.
But Moten also had some good news to share.
He said that a small chain of southern comfort food restaurants, Kitchen and Kocktails, plans to lease space in 150 Bagley, once the building is ready to open.
More: Final details laid out for Gilbert's next development in downtown Detroit
The DDA plans to vote at its April 23 meeting on whether to give the developers an additional $1.1 million loan.
A spokesperson for the Brinker/Christman joint venture issued a statement Wednesday night regarding the Residences @ 150 Bagley project:
"Due to the overall nature of the work and age of the building, additional scope was required," the statement said. "Brinker/Christman suspended work to allow time for the owner to secure additional funding. We look forward to working collaboratively with the owner to complete this important project."
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@ Follow him on X @jcreindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Work stoppage, cost overruns delay reopening of Detroit building
