Source: auction.com
Detroit’s art deco Fisher Building has gone under the hammer in an eBay-style online auction.
The 635,000 sq ft structure – designed by Joseph Nathaniel French, of Albert Kahn Associates – is jointly listed with the adjacent Kahn Building and the lot could go for a modest $30 million (£19 million).
The buildings’ previous owner, the Farbman Group, bought the two properties for $31 million in 2001 but lost them to creditors earlier this year, prompting the online auction. Bidding started yesterday and at the time of writing was up to $8 million. It closes at 5pm (BST) tomorrow.
‘It has been an honour to look after the Fisher and Albert Kahn buildings for the past 14 years, and we wish the new owner all the best as they care for these iconic assets and their bright future,’ said Farbman Group spokesperson Michael Layne.
Many original features remain inside the 1928 building, including a marble-laden lobby with a barrel-vaulted ceiling covered in three mosaics by Hungarian artist Géza Maróti. More than 400 tonnes of bronze and about 40 types of marble make up the National Historic Landmark’s façade and interiors.
The 28-storey building also comes with the 2,000-seater Fisher Theatre and two car parks with more than 2,000 parking spaces. Current commercial tenants include a host of radio and television stations, as well as several architecture firms.
