The Book is back

Nineteen years after the landmark Detroit hotel closed its doors for what many thought was the last time, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced that the historic hotel would be open again in time for the 2006 Motor City Super Bowl.

The new Book will be called the Renaissance Book-Cadillac Hotel and will be an upscale brand of Marriot International. It will feature 483 guest rooms, 76 high-end apartments and a 186-car parking deck.

"The Book-Cadillac is a monument to Michigan's Golden Age, when we were a magnet of economic opportunity," said Granholm. "This restoration is a huge step towards recreating that opportunity and prosperity in Detroit and across Michigan. It shows our commitment to investing in our cities and to economic success for every community in the state."

The elaborate financing package for the $146.8 million renovation cost involves 10 different financing sources, led by a one-third stake by the Kimberly-Clark Corp. (yes the maker of Huggies diapers) and private, city, state and federal financing sources. Kimberly-Clark led the similar renovation of an historic Statler Hotel in St. Louis.

The construction team will be led by J.S. Alberici, who have requested that construction work be performed all-union under a National Maintenance Agreement. 

At the time it was constructed by the Book Brothers in 1924, the 33-story Book-Cadillac was the tallest hotel in the world. It had 1,035 guest rooms and five floors of ballrooms, restaurants and shops. The opulent hotel boasted crystal chandeliers, ornate brass fixtures and fancy wood and plasterwork throughout. Over the years, virtually everything of value has been stripped from the hotel by urban scavengers, and roof leaks have ruined much of the interior plasterwork.

Kilpatrick said when he took office 18 months ago, "most of us thought the wrecking ball would be coming to this hotel. But we've done everything in our power to help save this hotel and others in Detroit, and we're not done yet."

MICHIGAN GOV. Jennfier Granholm announces the comeback of the Book-Cadillac in front of a big crowd and a banner hung on the side of the tattered hotel.