No architectural gem is safe from Detroit’s foreclosure crisis – not even two of Mies Van der Rohe’s very own creations. The Lafayette Towers, two 22-story towers of 584 units, originally part of a major urban redevelopment project in the late 50s early 60s, are up for auction July 18th.
But be warned, there is a catch…
Find out the fine print, after the break.
Within 18 months, the owners must complete a laundry list of reparations (including replacing bathtubs and installing peepholes). And to make sure you’re on-task, HUD will require you to send quarterly progress reports (with pictures of course) and put down $2.5 million dollars as a kind of deposit.
As ArtInfo puts it, “HUD’s comprehensive list of repairs is a fine print nightmare for developers but a blessing for Mies’s 1960s-era architecture.” Perhaps this foreclosure may just be a blessing in disguise.
Story via ArtInfo, Curbed Detroit, Archinect
