Detroit’s Music Hall unveils expansion plans

The plans call for a seven-story building with three outdoor terraces and a rooftop restaurant

Dec 11, 2023 at 10:22 am

The new Music Hall will open in the fall of 2026. Courtesy photo

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "35519556",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100
          }
          
        ]

Detroit’s Music Hall Center is getting a facelift with a new building adjacent to the old one.

Architect and Detroit native Tod Williams and his New York-based firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (TWBTA) have released a rendering of the new design.

Located at Madison and Randolph, the new Music Hall will stand seven stories high at 100,000 square feet. It will include a concert hall, recital hall, recording and practice studios, office space, a music academy, and a welcome center with box office access to city-wide arts and cultural programming. The opening is planned for the fall of 2026.

Inside, the 1,800-square-foot recital hall will have 200 seats, sculptural wood panels with large windows, three covered outdoor terraces, and a rooftop restaurant with views of Grand Circus Park.

The terraces will be covered by a floating canopy and an adjacent alleyway will be transformed into a community gathering space with art installations and public performances. The three-story concert hall will have a 1,900-person standing capacity with a proscenium stage and a VIP mezzanine level with a lounge-like atmosphere that seats up to 80 people, plus a dedicated bar.

Williams has worked on projects across the globe including the recent renovation of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City and the creation of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

“The experience of growing up in and around Detroit has followed and influenced me throughout my life and career,” he said in a media announcement. “It is a tremendous gift for our studio and team to work with Vince Paul, the Music Hall staff, Board, and our excellent contractor Barton Malow, among many others, on this once-in-a-lifetime project at the heart of downtown's cultural corridor.”

Williams will be in town to unveil further details about the building this week.

Slideshow

15 new Detroit developments to be excited about [PHOTOS]

Book Tower1265 Washington Blvd., Detroit; booktowerdetroit.comBedrock recently announced the completion of its 7-year, $300 million restoration of the nearly century-old high-rise, which has sat vacant since 2009. The 500,000-square-foot building includes 38 floors with 229 residential units, 117 hotel rooms, co-working space, 52,000 square feet of retail, and plans for three new dining concepts. The before-and-after photos Bedrock has shared are quite stunning.

Michigan Central 2001 15th St., Detroit; michigancentral.com In 2018, Ford Motor Co. announced plans to revive Corktown’s hulking, long-abandoned 110-year-old train station (the last train departed in 1988) as the centerpiece of a planned 30-acre, $950 million innovation campus with retail and public space. Mayor Mike Duggan delivered his State of the City speech from the nearly completed facility in March, and said he expects the automaker to officially move in by July.

TargetMack and Woodward Avenues, DetroitDepartment store chain Target plans to open a 32,000-square-foot “small format” store in the city in Midtown in late 2024. (It will be Detroit’s only Target. There used to be one on Eight Mile Road, which opened in 1987 and closed in 2003.) Even though it’ll be significantly smaller than the chain’s typical 130,000-square-foot stores that you’ll find in the suburbs, it’s a welcome addition to a city with few big-box shopping options.

The Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park 1801 W. Jefferson Ave., Detroit Ground broke on this $75 million project last year, which will transform a stretch of riverfront land (where the now-defunct Mo Pop music festival was held for years) into 22 acres of public space that will include playgrounds, basketball courts, an outdoor concert space, wildlife conservation efforts, and more. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2024.

The Development at Cadillac Square (formerly Monroe Blocks)18 Monroe Ave., Detroit; developmentcadillacsquare.comOriginally projected for completion in 2022, Bedrock’s former Monroe Blocks project has seen delays and has since been scaled down. Original plans called for 814,000 square feet of office space, but a new plan unveiled in February, dubbed The Development at Cadillac Square, now calls for 400,000 square feet. Interestingly, the new design also includes a 2,000-seat concert venue that would reincorporate the ornate facade of the former National Theatre Building, an Albert Kahn-designed vaudeville house and movie theater. In the meantime, Bedrock has used the space to host its “Monroe Street Midway,” an outdoor site that includes public art, a roller rink, and a drive-in movie screen.

Hudson’s site1208 Woodward Ave., Detroit; hudsonssitedetroit.comBedrock’s plan for a skyscraper built on the site of the former J. L. Hudson Department Store has seen numerous delays and revisions. Initially conceived as Michigan’s tallest building and expected to be completed last year, the project has been scaled back to the point where, at 685.4 feet, it will no longer be taller than Detroit’s Renaissance Center. On track for completion by the end of 2024, the development is expected to include 1.5 million square feet of office, retail, hotel, residential, event, and public spaces.

The District Detroit Between Midtown and downtown; districtdetroit.com Much has been said about the gulf between what the Ilitches promised their “District Detroit” surrounding Little Caesars Arena would look like (a bustling, tree-lined, walkable downtown with retail) and the reality (basically just parking lots). After already getting some $400 million in tax incentives for the project, the Ilitches’ Olympia Development has now asked for and received $616 million more. The development, if it comes to fruition, would include 10 new and rehabbed buildings, 695 apartments, retail, and hotels.

Click to View 15 slides

Tags:

About The Author

Randiah Camille Green

After living in Japan and traveling across Asia, Randiah Camille Green realized Detroit will always be home. And when she says Detroit, she's talking about the hood, not the suburbs. She has bylines in Planet Detroit News , Bridge Detroit , BLAC magazine, and Model D .Her favorite pastimes are meditating on...