DETROIT, MI - Construction details of the David Whitney Building's redevelopment will be released Thursday morning, and Gov. Rick Snyder will join local developers in ushering the next phase of downtown Detroit’s latest residential project.

The project is getting $8.5 million in state grants to help make the buildings' renovation into apartments, a hotel and retail space a reality. The money is coming in the form of a $7.5 million performance-based loan and a $1 million Community Revitalization Program performance-based grant.

The 19-floor building at 1553 Woodward Ave. is going to be converted into 105 residential apartments, 135 hotel rooms and ground-level retail. The hotel will be Michigan's first Aloft-branded accommodations, which are a "hip" branch of the W Hotel chain. The Aloft hotel will come with its signature WXYZ bar and ReMix lounge.



Ground-level retail will include a full-service restaurant at the corner of Woodward and Park Avenue. Total renovations to the property were last reported as costing $82 million, and are expected to be complete by the end of 2014.

The David Whitney was built in 1915 and designed by Daniel Burnham, who also designed Union Station in Washington D.C. and the Flatiron Building in New York City.

The building is across the street from the Broderick Tower, and together the two towers are seen as a gateway into downtown Detroit from Midtown on Woodward Avenue.

When the Broderick Tower opened its doors to residents in November, it was seen as a partial alleviation for pent-up demand for residential real estate in downtown Detroit, where the occupancy rate is often cited as greater than 95 percent.