$7 million redevelopment to include 45 apartments

Rents starting at $1,200 for studios, $1,400 for one-bedrooms, $1,950 for two-bedrooms

Construction to begin in November, finish in September

A 40,0000-square-foot building on Cadillac Square in downtown Detroit is set for a $7 million-plus conversion into 45 market-rate apartments.

Construction on the Lawyers Building at 139 Cadillac Square is expected to start in November and be complete in September, said Mike Ferlito, president of Detroit-based developer Ferlito Group.

When finished, it is planned to have 18 studio units, 18 one-bedrooms and nine two-bedrooms with rents starting at $1,250, $1,400 and $1,950, respectively.

The 10-story Lawyers Building was built in 1922, Ferlito said.

According to Historic Detroit, which tracks Detroit building and architecture history, the Lawyers Building was developed by John Barlum, who also developed what are now known as Cadillac Tower and New Cadillac Square Apartments. It was designed by the Bonnah & Chaffee architecture firm, the website says.

It houses a 7-Eleven convenience store on the first floor and is vacant on the remaining floors.

Ferlito said his company will jointly own the building with current owner Gary Tringale, who bought it in 2012 for $1.15 million, according to city records.

He declined to disclose the structure of the ownership group.

Quinn Evans Architects, which has offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor, is the project architect, Ferlito said. Ferlito Group, which was previously based in Roseville, is the project developer.

The company is also behind The Selden development, which razed the former Marie Apartments and replaced them with a 22,000-square-foot new building with a dozen condominiums, a new office for Ferlito Group and a new restaurant, which has yet to be announced.

That project is a month or two from being complete, and nine of the condos have been sold, Ferlito said.