Building Sale Signals End of Era
Business to Business Monthly Magazine
Date -- April, 2001 - By Bill Milliken, CCIM
Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce
Remember Schwaben Hall in downtown Ann Arbor? It is hard to find anyone who does not. The four-story, 22,000 square foot building has been a fixture on Ashley Street since 1915. But it is now bracing for a renovation that will turn it into a Class A downtown office building. The building is under contract to The Ashley Group, a partnership made up of William Kinley of Phoenix Development Company, and Richard Mitchell and John Mouat (Mitchell and Mouat Architects). All the members of this well-heeled development team have an impressive resume of historic preservation, renovation and construction work, something that will serve them well as they take on a project in Ann Arbor's Historic District.
Germans Built Ann ArborThe "era" harkens back to the 1830's in Ann Arbor. German farmers and craftsmen began emigrating here with their families in significant numbers from Swabia, an area around Stuttgart, Germany. They settled west of Ann Arbor, and they also built what is now known as the Old West Side. Half of Ann Arbor's population was German in the late 1800's, and German was spoken in business and on the street." I look at any of the brick facades downtown and I automatically associate them with the German masons," says Mary Culver at Ann Arbor's Historic District Commission. "Those men were really artisans." In particular, she refers to "rund boganstyle" upper windows whose vaulted brick tops were the signature of German masons of the day.
Schwaben Social ClubSchwaebischer Untersteutzungs Verein (S.U.V.) is the name of record of the entity that owns the Schwaben Hall building. It began in the 1800's as a German social club, dedicated to sustaining German culture, language and heritage amongst its countrymen. Schwaben Hall was not completed until 1915. But the SUV met regularly at the American Hotel (later the Allenel Hotel), which was located in what is now the Earle Building, beginning in1880. SUV originally bought the land for Schwaben Hall on Ashley Street from Emanuel Wagner in 1894 for $5,500. In May of 1914, the cornerstone for Schwaben Hall was laid for a new building designed by architect George Scott. In March, 1915, contractor Julius H. Koernke completed the new building whose second floor became - and still is today -- SUV's social epicenter. Much of the rest of the structure was leased to Mack & Co., the City's largest dry goods store. In storefronts nearby, families like the Schlenkers, Vogels, Ehnis's and Staeblers built the businesses that helped give the town its early character.
Unprecedented Downtown DemandThe office vacancy rate data that Swisher Commercial released in February for the downtown Ann Arbor submarket pointed to an historic low - 1.85% vacancy. That statistic, though not single-handedly responsible, did a great deal to kindle the market interest in purchasing Schwaben Hall. Schwaben Hall is solid and well maintained, but it suffers from a good deal of functional obsolescence. However, that did little to discourage prospective buyers. The listing price was $1,150,000. Teams of architects, engineers and contractors poured through the property over a sixty-day period this winter, generating sheaves reports for their respective purchasers.
Multiple Purchase OffersUltimately, the board of directors of SUV received eleven qualified offers to purchase the building, necessitating several special meetings of the board to evaluate them and select a bidder with whom to enter into a purchase agreement. The offers were almost exclusively from developers, and they came from out of town and out of state. All sought to redevelop the property for office use, and then make it available for lease.In the end, the contract price exceeded the asking price. The specific amount is confidential until the closing occurs, which is expected to be June 1. "With one exception, this is the longest title search we have done in twenty years," notes Gregg Ottaviani, president of American Title of Washtenaw. Nine "aliases" for the owner were uncovered in the course of the search, he says. German-English translation issues may account for many of the aliases. Also, because SUV purchased the land before the turn of the century, the research led American Title much farther back into the 1800's in order to verify ownership and write its title insurance policy.
The "New" Schwaben HallThe Ashley Group, which acquired the right to continue to use the Schwaben name, is developing plans to build three floors of Class A office space in the building. The first floor, soon to be stripped of its Lincolnesque, log cabin façade, may become either retail or restaurant space. Rental rates have not been determined, but the market for office leasing will probably peg those rental rates in at least the low twenty-dollar/square foot range, plus the cost of utilities.
For More Information Contact:
Bill Milliken, CCIM
Property listing data is based on information believed accurate & reliable. However, accuracy is not guaranteed.
Copyright © 2005 Milliken Realty Company
info@millikenrealty.com
