Oxford Capital Group and Hunter Pasteur will break ground this week on The Godfrey Hotel Detroit in the city’s historic Corktown neighborhood, bringing a 227-room, lifestyle-brand hotel to the area.
The property, at 1401 Michigan Ave. between Trumbull and Eighth Street, is scheduled to open in 2023. Oxford’s wholly owned management affiliate, Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC, will manage the property.
The 227-room, seven-story hotel will feature I|O, Detroit’s largest indoor/outdoor rooftop lounge with views of downtown Detroit and Corktown; a ground-floor chef-driven restaurant; a lobby bar; a 5,500-square-foot grand ballroom that will accommodate events of more than 350 guests; and a state-of-the-art fitness center. The hotel will have a soft brand affiliation with Hilton’s Curio Collection.
The Godfrey will also create an estimated 200 to 300 construction jobs and an estimated 160 to 200 part- and full-time jobs, the latter of which include a 401(k) and health insurance and will pay a minimum of $17 an hour. The developer has committed that at least 25 percent of these jobs will go to residents of Detroit. The developers will partner with the City’s Detroit at Work Program as the hotel’s priority staffing partner.
“We view Detroit as a compelling hotel investment market given all the existing and new demand being created by the dozens of recent and forthcoming corporate relocations and expansions downtown,” said Matthew Kalt, vice president of Oxford Capital Group, LLC.
The Godfrey Hotel Detroit will add to Oxford’s current and historical portfolio of more than 15,000 hotel rooms. Current Godfrey Hotel locations include Chicago, Boston, Tampa, Hollywood and others in planning and development.
The project investors include several prominent Detroit families, led by Nate Forbes and James Grosfeld. The Godfrey Hotel Detroit will also benefit from Oxford’s metro Detroit-based development partner Hunter Pasteur’s extensive local development experience and relationships. Oxford, Hunter Pasteur and The Forbes Co. are finalizing plans to launch the Perennial Corktown Apartments adjacent to the Godfrey, which will also break ground this year.
