The Detroit Athletic Club is spending $11 million on a transformational renovation project designed to modernize the club’s facilities but retain its historical charm.
The renovation involves two primary projects: a $3.5 million upgrade of 29 overnight rooms, which haven’t been renovated since 2011, and a $7.5 million reworking of the club’s main kitchen. The rooms will get new furniture, updated fixtures and enhanced HVAC systems. Completion is expected by the middle of the year.
The kitchen renovation, set to start next month, involves a complete redesign, featuring modern equipment and utility updates. A unique feature of this overhaul is the creation of the Chef’s Table, a private dining space within the kitchen, exclusively for DAC members.
“The main kitchen renovation is a major project,” said the club’s executive manager and CEO, Charles Johnson. “It has been several decades since the main kitchen was renovated to the extent it will be in 2024. The main kitchen is on the second floor of the building and is the production center for most events at the club.”
Johnson said the two projects were identified in long-range capital planning and were approved by the Board of Directors in December 2022. As with all capital investments and renovations at the DAC, Johnson said, members will not be assessed for the cost of these projects.
The room renovation portion of the project is being managed by Jonna Construction and Kraemer Design Group, while McIntosh Poris Associates and Frank Rewold & Sons are handling the kitchen.
