Red Arrow Lofts: Bringing a Century-Old Corktown Bottling Plant Back as 28 Loft Apartments

Red Arrow Lofts sits at 1567 Church St in Corktown, in a building that spent decades as the home of the Red Arrow Bottling Company. Today it holds 28 loft-style apartments, and the project is a good example of what adaptive reuse actually requires beyond the design concept everyone sees in the finished photos.

What Was Already There

The value in a project like Red Arrow Lofts starts with what the building already had: exposed brick, original timber beams, the kind of structural character that cannot be recreated with new construction at any budget. The design leans into that directly, pairing the original brick and beams with contemporary finishes, stainless steel appliances, brick accent walls, and floating white cabinetry with quartz countertops, so the old and new elements read as one space rather than a renovation layered on top of a shell.

What Adaptive Reuse Actually Requires Before Design Can Move

Getting to that finished look starts with questions a ground-up project never has to ask. What can the existing structure actually carry, given a century of use and whatever modifications happened along the way. Where can new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems run through a building that was built for industrial bottling operations, not for kitchens and bathrooms in 28 separate units. Which original elements are structural and need to be protected during construction, and which are cosmetic and can be worked around. None of that is visible in a finished photo, and all of it determines whether a project like this is even feasible before a single finish gets selected.

Built to Work as a Neighborhood, Not Just a Building

Red Arrow Lofts is part of the larger Perennial Corktown development, which means residents have access to a rooftop pool deck, a fitness center, co-working space, EV charging, and a resident lounge, on top of a walkable Corktown location near Corktown Tap House, Haraz Coffee, and Rosette Market and Cafe. Coordinating an adaptive reuse building's systems and access points to function as part of a larger shared amenity campus is its own layer of sequencing that a standalone renovation does not have to account for.

Why This Kind of Project Matters for Southeast Michigan

Corktown has become one of the most active adaptive reuse corridors in the state, and Red Arrow Lofts is one example of a broader pattern: century-old industrial and commercial buildings across Southeast Michigan being converted into housing rather than demolished. That pattern only works when a construction partner can move confidently between historic preservation instincts and modern residential code requirements, without losing the character that made the building worth saving in the first place.

Premier's Role

Premier Construction and Design served as general contractor on Red Arrow Lofts, working through the structural, mechanical, and sequencing questions that adaptive reuse projects require before the design vision on paper became a livable building. If you are evaluating an older building in Southeast Michigan for a similar transformation, reach out to our team directly.