Detroit Yacht Club Restoration Master Plan
| Owner: | Detroit Yacht Club |
| Location: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Role: | Architecture, Planning, Historic Preservation |
| Completion: | 2007 |
The 94,000sf Detroit Yacht Club, the largest yacht club in the world, was built in 1923. The Architect for the clubhouse was George D. Mason, the designer of the famed Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. He borrowed Mediterranean design elements for this spacious stucco and red tiled roofed clubhouse. Little work had been done to update building systems or adapt space to the needs and expectations of a multifaceted membership. Recommendations for site development included responding to the axis proposed in the original site plan, new entry image design with a landscaped courtyard, park like development at each end of the island, efficient parking lot design, redesign of the Starlight Circle for weddings and celebrations, and establish a Watergate Promenade. Building rehabilitation recommendations included the major renovation of the ground floor areas to serve the growing membership and the restoration of the second-floor area to serve the DYC Banquet and Conference clientele. The DYC is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
*Thomas Roberts, AIA was an employee of Gunn Levine Architects.
