Bedrock buys another riverfront property: the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel

Billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert's real estate firm has acquired the Robert Riverwalk Hotel in Detroit's East Riverfront neighborhood more than a mile from downtown, Bedrock LLC said on Friday.

Details of the deal weren't disclosed. It's the the latest property along the Detroit River the firm has purchased, joining acquisitions of the Stroh River Place site and the former UAW-GM training center last year, as Bedrock looks to make the riverfront a place for "sustainable urban development," according to a news release.

The acquisition of the five-story, 1902-built hotel at 1000 River Place adds 5,500 square feet of banquet and event space, 108 hotel rooms and 126 parking spaces to Bedrock's portfolio. The property has more than 290 square feet of frontage along the river bordering Windsor, Ontario. Further information on plans for the site will come in 2023, the company added.

“Bedrock’s acquisition of the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel further emphasizes our investment in the redevelopment of Detroit’s East Riverfront,” Cathy Clark, Bedrock's chief investment officer, said in a statement. “Strategically located along our evolving riverfront footprint, this historic hotel provides increased access to parking and public amenities, all strategically located directly along Detroit’s International Riverwalk.”

The property had been on the market for years. In 2020, it went up for sale for $26 million. At auction, it got a bid of $15 million, but the sale fell apart.

Since its founding in 2011, Bedrock and its affiliates have invested and committed more than $5.6 billion to acquiring and developing more than 100 properties in Detroit and Cleveland with more than 19 million square feet of office, retail and residential space.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble