DETROIT - A joint venture of Detroit-based developers has acquired The Metropolitan Building in downtown Detroit from the city's Downtown Development Authority.

The purchase by Metropolitan Hotel Partners, which consists of Means Group and Roxbury Group, is a "significant step" toward a $32 million redevelopment project that will turn the Weston-and-Ellington-designed building into an extended-stay Element hotel, the developers announced Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Building, which had previously housed jewelry businesses, was vacated in 1977 and has since fallen into disrepair.

"The redevelopment of The Metropolitan Building serves an important role Downtown's revitalization and we are thankful to our partners for helping make it happen through their commitment and collaboration," Means Group CEO Eric Means said in a release. "Not only are we activating a building that has sat vacant for 40 years, but we are filling a critical gap in city's hotel market by introducing Michigan's first Starwood's Element hotel brand, offering a high-quality, extended stay option, in Detroit."

Plans for the project and the acquisition were first announced in May. They call for 110 hotel rooms at the 91-year-old building, which will be branded as the Element Detroit at the Metropolitan Building.

The development is being funded with the help of new market tax credits, historic tax credits and other incentives from the state's Community Revitalization Program. The project is scheduled to be complete in summer 2018.

In addition to the one- and two-bedroom hotel rooms, plans call for:

Restoration of the 14-story neo-gothic building's exterior

Top-to-bottom renovation of the 100,000-square-foot interior that will preserve elements of its original, ornate lobby and mezzanine

A 2,000-square-foot meeting space

7,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and lower level

An outdoor patio on the 11th floor's rear rooftop

The Element brand was launched with the intention of creating eco-friendly hotels. It's one of 11 brands owned by Connecticut-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, which also owns the Westin and Sheraton chains.

There are currently 22 Element-branded hotels worldwide, including 19 in North America, two in Europe and one in Asia Pacific.