The Flute House restores building in downtown Royal Oak

metromode, 7/9/2009

Few people would guess a high-end flute store is the new next door neighbor for B&B Collision, a long-time staple in downtown Royal Oak, on South Main Street.

Ervin Monroe, the retired principal flutist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, will open The Flute House by the end of the year at 913 S. Main St. The 2-story building will house the store on the ground floor and Monroe's home on the second.

"He sells high-end flutes by appointment only and sheet music out the back," says Keith Phillips, co-founder of Brighton-based The Think Shop Architects, designer of the building.

It started out as home to Alegra Print & Imaging in the mid-20th Century, and has since played host to a body shop and brick emporium. The original building will house 5,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The residential space above measures out to 2,100 square feet.

Construction has been going on for about a year. When finished, Phillips says it will have a progressive contemporary look sure to make heads turn and jaws drop.

"It's going to be bright red," says Phillips, who is also a professor at Lawrence Technological University. "It's going to snap some heads back when it’s done."

Source: Keith Phillips, co-founder of The Think Shop Architects
Writer: Jon Zemke

Royal Oak