Daniel Bethencourt

Detroit Free Press

Tony Hawk has bought a home in Detroit.

The skateboarding icon closed on a three-unit apartment building in Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood on Wednesday, said Jim Tumey, a senior commercial agent at The Loft Warehouse, a Detroit-based brokerage.

While Hawk is not moving to Detroit, he and his family “wanted to put their money and their stamp on the city,” said Tumey, who finalized the sale. Hawk could not be immediately reached for comment.

The red-brick building, which is about 120 years old, was at one point a single-family home, then at another point a hospital before it was converted into apartments, Tumey said.

When Hawk and his family are in town, they plan to stay in one of the 1,200-square-foot units, while the other two units are leased.

“They love it,” Tumey said of the family. “Where else can you buy three apartments in a 120-140-year-old building? It’s a pretty good deal.” He declined to disclose the building’s price.

Hawk is based in California, but his wife is from metro Detroit and the family comes to Detroit on occasion to visit relatives, Tumey said.

When Hawk reached out to Tumey months ago, he suggested condos at first, but Hawk chose to buy a building because he also wanted to invest in the city.

“I grew up skateboarding, so it’s kind of ironic to have a childhood idol turn into a client,” Tumey said.

Wednesday was also the family’s first time seeing the building in person -- previous visits had been walk-throughs on FaceTime. After the sale was closed, the family and Tumey posed for a photo on Instagram.

While in town, Hawk also did some skating at a nearby skate park in Woodbridge known as The Wig, which was built by Tumey’s friends. The park made an appearance on Hawk’s Instagram page.

Contact Daniel Bethencourt: dbethencourt@freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @_dbethencourt.