Historic Detroit Apartment Community Reborn

Detroit-based City Club Apartments LLC, a 100-year-old company and developer, owner and manager of the first true international Apartment Hotel Brand, celebrated today the complete redevelopment of City Club Apartments Lafayette Park (formerly named Elmwood Park Plaza). This innovative and progressive 18-story mixed-use apartment community built by Toby and David Hotlzman and Holtzman and Silverman in the early 1970s was one of the first mixed-use apartment communities in the nation and included a Detroit Public Library branch, retail and a Farmer Jack grocery store. The library remains a tenant today. Deputy Mayor Conrad Mallett, Director of Housing and Revitalization Donald Rencher, City Council President Pro Tem Mary Sheffield and City Club Apartments Chairman and CEO Jonathan Holtzman were among the speakers at the event.

“This building has a special place in my heart as it was developed by my father and uncle nearly 50 years ago.” said Holtzman. City Club Apartments and its predecessor companies have been actively building for sale and for rent housing in the City of Detroit for more than 100 years and we have never been more inspired with its leadership, vision and energy. The Holtzman family pioneered urban, mixed-use apartment development in Detroit with this building in the 1970s and we are raising the bar once again with this transformation. We redeveloped this community in response to the demand for affordable luxury in the City. It simply does not exist in the market today and we are excited to be delivering it with this market redefining redevelopment.”

Located at 750 Chene Street in the newly renamed Rivertown District, the 18-story mixed-use high-rise features 202 newly redeveloped apartments and penthouses—20 percent of which are affordable for existing and new residents.

“The revitalization of our city will not matter if our longtime residents can’t afford to live in their own homes after improvements are made,” said Deputy Mayor Mallett. "We have made it one of our top priorities to work with closely owners to preserve affordable rents as our city’s buildings and communities are redeveloped. We appreciates the commitment made by Jonathan and City Club Apartments and all of the hard work put forth by our Housing & Revitalization Department to make sure that residents were able to stay in this beautiful building at a rate that they could afford.” According to Holtzman, the majority of the 20% affordable was absorbed by existing residents. As residents in affordable units choose to move out, it will create an opportunity for someone else who qualifies.

The building improvements include international design, 24/7 resort class amenities and time saving services. Greenery and nature play a prominent role in the redevelopment and design of the property, integrating existing mature trees with new landscaping and soft scaping of the Terrace Club private park and the tree inspired pattern applied to the exterior facade of the mixed-use community. The community is designed to achieve NAHB Green Building Certification which demonstrates high-performance building and construction practices in six distinct areas: lot design and development, resource efficiency, water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and building operation & maintenance. This attention to green building and management, social responsibility and total body health and wellness is a top priority for all of City Club Apartments’ new and redevelopment communities. As an example, the redevelopment included the installation of a new modern HVAC system and all new high-efficiency exterior windows. The building will also be Clean Rated and is pursuing wellness certification.

From a Lobby Lounge Library and first floor Entertainment Club Room with gourmet kitchen, lounge seating, big screen TVs and a fireplace where residents can host private events, entertain or connect with their neighbors, to a state of the art wellness and 24/7 Whole Body Fitness Center, outdoor Terrace Club with a heated pool and hot tub, Zen Garden, grilling area and custom lounge seating and cabanas, City Club Apartments Lafayette Park offers the amenities and services of a 4-star hotel with the very best of urban living and lifestyle. For residents that want to work from home, the community provides a multitude of flexible options including a reservable 24/7 buisness center/conferences room and powered tables in the Clubroom. Pet friendly, the community’s Bark Park and dog run invites pet owners to schedule play dates with their neighbors.

The community’s list of amenities and services also includes gated and secure private parking, advanced high-speed fiber technology, extended hour concierge services and highly active social programming. Perched on top of the completely redeveloped building is the 18th floor Sky Lounge where residents and their guests can enjoy comfortable seating and unobstructed 360-degree views of the Riverfront, Belle Isle, Downtown and Eastern Market.

City Club Apartments Lafayette Park features four distinct finish packages, in the four one-bedroom apartment and four one-bedroom penthouse floor plans. CCA’s exclusively designed kitchens include European-style cabinets, frosted glass and metal accents, open shelving, built-in wine racks and slide in front control ranges, refrigerators with ice makers, dishwashers, microwave ovens and gooseneck faucets. Select units also include glass tile backsplash, full height pantries, granite counter tops, undermount sinks, undercabinet LED lighting, moveable multi-function island and full size washers and dryers. Balconies are also available in select units with city and river views. And of course, City Club’s sexy bathrooms.

The community is located directly adjacent to a Detroit Public Library branch, one block from public transportation and four blocks from the Detroit riverfront, parks and trails. The community provides complimentary onsite bike storage for its residents.

City Club Apartments is the largest owner of existing, under development and under construction apartment and penthouse units in the City of Detroit. Hotlzman’s grandfather Joseph built single family homes in the city of Detroit beginning in 1919. His father Toby and uncle David built the 202-unit Elmwood Plaza in the early 1970s and were partners in the development of Detroit’s 802-unit Riverfront Apartments in the early 80’s. The company purchased the former Millender Center Apartments during Detroit’s bankruptcy and redeveloped them to the 360-unit Renaissance City Club Apartments. The company purchased and redeveloped the 351-unit Trolley Plaza into Detroit City Club Apartments in 2016. The 288-unit mixed-use City Club Apartments CBD Detroit formally opened June 17, 2021 and is more than 85% leased. And, City Club Apartments plans to break ground on a significant mixed-use apartment community in Midtown in 2022.

City Club Apartments is a 100-year-old company that develops, owns and operates branded urban apartment hotels creating a unique and differentiated living experience focused on hospitality and customer satisfaction that drives long term value for its investors and employees.

Partnering with local business's City Club Apartments combines a curated mix of uses with environmentally conscious, technologically advanced, amenity rich properties that have a unique mix of apartments and penthouses. They are activated with year-round events, art, and best in class 24/7 hospitality services.

Prior to launching CCA in early 2016, Holtzman served as Chairman, CEO and 50 percent owner of Village Green Holdings, a 50-year-old, $4.5 billion apartment company that evolved from a mixed-use development company founded by his grandfather Joseph Holtzman in 1919. In July 2016, Holtzman announced that he had sold his interest in Village Green’s operating companies to Dallas-based Compatriot Capital. Jonathan retained his ownership of 10,000 apartments in 30 communities with a combined real estate value exceeding $2 billion. City Club Apartments has $750 million of new communities in various stages of development, construction and lease-up in downtown Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Chicago with expansion planned for the East Coast, Southeast, Southwest, Canada and Europe. City Club Apartments plans to start two new communities each year. The company owns and operates three apartment hotel communities in Detroit with a fourth currently under development in Midtown.