Judy Rose

Special to the Detroit Free Press

A nearly $5-million penthouse in downtown Detroit? Yes, and it is breathtaking.

At $4.9 million, this is the most expensive single-family listing inside the city, and surely the most expensive ever.

Its location is a soaring space cut into the top three floors of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, the 1924 landmark recently restored to its Neo-Renaissance glory.

The hotel’s 29th floor is the penthouse’s first. Floors 30 and 31 are half cut away to leave a wide open area about 30 feet high with giant hotel windows on its sides. The second and third floors look into it.

Except for bedrooms and bathrooms, walls are few. So you can stand at the back of the large kitchen, for example, and see 50 feet out to the hotel windows and the city. That 360-degree view includes the Detroit River and its freighters, the Ambassador Bridge and all three sports stadiums.

“We wanted to keep it really simple,” the owner said. “Most of this is all about what’s outside.”

That outside scene is vibrant with building and renovation. From this penthouse, you can see six giant construction cranes, for example those at the Book Tower, the Detroit City Club apartments and the new Hudson site.

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The penthouse gives homage to its Neo-Renaissance history with materials like the black-and-white marble floors. But its cut-away floors and minimal walls give it a personality that’s all contemporary.

The main floor, called the entertaining space, has the large open living-dining room and a large handsome kitchen. The owner, a veteran of building and remodeling, found a stunning piece of black marble for her island, 11 feet long.

Then she encountered the big limit of construction inside a high rise — the capacity of the freight elevator. “I said, ‘What do you mean you have to cut my marble in half?!’”

The main floor also has an office, a long, slim room that faces Comerica Park through a wall that’s mostly glass. On Fridays after Tigers home games, the park puts on a fireworks show. The couple often use that as entertainment for a dinner party.

Most of the second floor is a very wide open space with handsome built-ins, set up for relaxing or watching TV. It also holds a guest suite.

The third floor has another guest suite and the large owners’ suite.

“When I try to describe this penthouse to someone who hasn’t seen it,” said Realtor Jerome Huez, “I tell them it’s like a large, three-story house dropped on top of one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.”

Because this is the very top of the building, some top windows here line up against a ziggurat. That’s the flourish for the top of a tall building. This one is built like a temple with stepped-up sections that carry carvings of Egyptian and Mesopotamian influence.

Turn a corner on this top floor and for a startled moment it seems you’ve stepped into the “Ghostbusters” movie set. You expect Dan Ackroyd to come blasting out.

Other statues on the building highlight Michigan's history and include General Anthony Wayne, Chief Pontiac and Antone de la Mothe Cadillac.

The condo totals 5,100 square feet. The owner used all local Detroit talent — Integrity Building Group as architect and builder and RL Concetti as interior designers.

It comes with the hotel’s services, room service and use of a gym and a pool. It also comes with two parking spots you can self-park or use via valet. Permanent residents here have their own entrance, separate from hotel guests.

The penthouse will be introduced to real estate professionals at a VIP preview April 6, according to Realtor Huez. It will reach the multiple listing system or MLS on April 13.

Detroit penthouse

Where: Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, Suite 2905, Detroit

How much: $4.9 million

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 3 full, 2 half

Square feet: 5,143

Key features: Stunning three-story penthouse at the top of the renovated Westin Book Cadillac Hotel has wide-open, dramatic interior architecture and 360-degree views of the Detroit River and the urban landscape. All luxury finishes. Close to everything downtown.

Contact: Jerome Huez, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Loft Warehouse, 313-693-3741.