Developer to start rehabbing downtown Royal Oak eye sore

What was once deemed “dangerous” by city officials is dangerously close to becoming the latest renovation for downtown Royal Oak.

Rehab work is expected to begin on 401 N Main St. before the end of the month and wrap up within six months.

“We’re just looking to finish the construction drawings,” says Jim Schneider, president of Royal Oak-based Schnieder+Smith Architects, which is designing the project.

The 2-story building has come a long way from last summer when city officials demanded the owner either begin restoring the blight or the city would raze it. Local residents had complained loudly about the decrepit structure at the corner of Main and West University Avenue, about a block from the Main Art Theatre.

The owner had planned to turn it into condos and ground floor retail space and even started construction, adding a second floor to the 1920s storefront. That plan floundered and it once again fell into disrepair. With the threat of action, the owner finally sold it and now its 5,000 square feet will become the home of a law office.

Schnieder+Smith Architects did the design work for the building. The firm also provided designs for the Luke Building renovation next door and the Tribune Building Royal Oak. Little by little, the architecture firm’s name is becoming synonymous with rennovating Royal Oak. Several restaurants in the city’s central business district, including Pronto!, Woody’s and the Comet Burger in downtown, have all benefited from Schnieder+Smith‘s designs.

Source: Jim Schneider, president of Royal Oak-based Schnieder+Smith Architects
Writer: Jon Zemke