The Foundation Hotel is a 100 room independent hotel located in the former Fire Department Headquarters at the gates of downtown Detroit.
Situated on the corner of West Larned Street and Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit, The historic Detroit Fire Department Headquarters has been transformed into The Foundation Hotel. The $28 million project, which was completed in 2017, was undertaken by developer Walter Cohen and encompasses the adjacent former Pontchartrain Wine Cellars building, featuring a new rooftop ballroom with expansive views of downtown Detroit.
The 100 room independent hotel, which was designed in partnership with award-winning Simeone Deary Design Group and Detroit-based McIntosh Poris Associates, demonstrates an appreciation for Detroit’s past and supports the Motor-City’s resurgence as a national hotbed for industry and culture.
Guests enter the five-story Neoclassical building through a massive arched, terracotta-faced portal, originally one of the fire engine doors. Once inside, they are transported into a voluminous, story-and-a-half space that once housed the fire engines. The space now houses the check-in desk, lobby and the hotel’s restaurant.
The Apparatus Room, aptly named after its original purpose in the fire department headquarters to house fire engines and equipment, spans the entire ground floor of the building. The restaurant, which is headed up by Michigan-native and two Michelin-starred chef Thomas Lents, offers iconic New American cuisine rooted in Midwestern ingredients. The inviting space is punctuated by a central communal bar and anchored by an open kitchen.
The hotel offers a variety of guestrooms including queen, double and king rooms, junior suites as well as the expansive Commissioner Suite. Making a statement in each room is the headboard wall constructed by Architectural Salvage Warehouse Detroit made entirely of repurposed wood. The walls are complemented by custom wallpaper from Detroit Wallpaper Co. featuring printed photographs of historic Detroit architecture. Fittings and furnishings inspired by the craftsmanship of past-era high-end automobiles add a touch of nostalgia to the guest rooms and celebrate industrial design so prominent in Detroit.
Additionally, the hotel includes nearly 3,000 square feet of dedicated meetings and events space, inclusive of a meeting room and boardroom, and an expansive rooftop ballroom on the fifth floor with expansive city views.
