Pogoda Companies helps Transform Iconic Albert Kahn Building by Adding Self Storage
The Albert Kahn Building opened in 1931. Long past its glory days, it sat underused for many years. Today, it is has been repurposed for apartments in the upstairs floors and self storage in the former Saks Fifth Avenue space, which occupied the ground floor from 1940 to 1980.
Adam Pogoda, President of Pogoda Companies, was instrumental in assisting the owners with the planning and development of the self-storage space. Pogoda Companies will manage the storage portion of the building upon its completion later this year.
Read More about this exciting announcement in this article presented by Crain’s Detroit
Historic New Center building adding self-storage units
Some of the commercial space in the historic Albert Kahn Building in Detroit’s New Center area is being turned into a somewhat unique use.
About 25,000 to 30,000 square feet of the building’s first floor and basement levels are being converted into approximately 250 self-storage units, attempting to capitalize on a shortage of such space in and around downtown Detroit.
Matthew Sosin, one of the building’s owners along with Adam Lutz, said as they tried to determine what types of commercial use fit that space, self-storage was a no-brainer.
“You’d like to think it would be office (use) or something like that, but I think storage works really well there. The community needs it and wants it,” Sosin said.
The units, which are going to be managed by Farmington Hills-based self-storage firm Pogoda Cos., will primarily by 10-by-10 or 10-by-5 feet, Sosin said.
About 15,000 square feet of rentable commercial space remains on the first floor, Sosin said.
Conversations about using part of the space as self-storage started perhaps two years ago, said Adam Pogoda, president of Pogoda Cos.
About 25,000 to 30,000 square feet of the Albert Kahn Building’s first floor and basement levels are being converted into approximately 250 self-storage units, attempting to capitalize on a shortage of such space in and around downtown Detroit.
“They were like, ‘Hey, do you think this will work,’ and I walked the space with them and I was super excited about it because it’s not conventional,” Pogoda said, noting that there isn’t much self-storage space in and around downtown. There’s one self-storage building downtown across from 36th District Court, and U-Haul has a property south of the Fisher Building, Pogoda said.
“I think there’s a ton of demand for it,” Pogoda said. “It’s tough to do because the rents wouldn’t justify building ground-up and it’s not the highest and best use in a lot of other spaces. So this felt like a really exciting opportunity to kind of sneak some storage in … We’ve got captive tenants in the apartments, there’s not a whole lot of product in this area and a lot of people with small apartments, which is what storage is made for, to be kind of that extra closet.”
Sosin, president of Farmington Hills-based developer Northern Equities Group, and Lutz, president and CEO of Birmingham-based Lutz Real Estate Investments, bought the Albert Kahn Building for $9.5 million in 2018 and began redeveloping it into more than 200 apartments.
The project, which clocked in at about $70 million, wrapped up about two years ago.
Sosin said the apartments are 86 percent leased