Is Great Lakes Coffee Expanding to Southwest Detroit?

Is Great Lakes Coffee expanding to a vacant firehouse property in Southwest Detroit? That's what Daily Detroit suggests in a recent article, stating that the company "is talking with city officials about purchasing and redeveloping" Detroit Fire Department Ladder No. 4/Engine No. 10 on Vinewood Street north of Michigan Avenue.

According to Curbed, the 6,724-square-foot firehouse was put up for auction in 2013 with a minimum bid of $128,000 and in February 2015 the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation began soliciting business proposals with the intent of finding "an experienced and qualified Developer who will submit a financially feasible and creative proposal for the adaptive reuse of the retired vacant firehouse and site."

Daily Detroit goes on to describe plans for:

... a mixed-use space that would combine offices and residences on the second floor with coffee roasting, a commercial kitchen, bar, and tasting room on the lower level.

Reached by phone, a representative for Great Lakes tells Eater that the property is not, in fact, a Great Lakes project, but one being developed separately by the company's roastmaster and operator of its Midtown cafe James Cadariu. Eater reached out to Cadariu for more information and is awaiting a response. Stay tuned for updates.

Ladder House No. 4 isn't the only firehouse building that slated for redevelopment. Phil Cooley (Slows Bar-B-Q), Kate Bordine (Our/Detroit Vodka), and developer Michael Chetcuti (Bigalora) began renovating Ladder House No. 12 in Corktown last year for a possible restaurant and event space.