In planning this 22,000-square-foot retail space, Morningside Group met a unique challenge: honoring a traditional American downtown commercial streetscape of small stores, many built in the first half of the 20th century, while developing a contemporary residential loft building.

Morningside created a comfortable, inviting space for pedestrians by carefully integrating building materials, scale of doors and windows, as well as awnings and streetscaping. The result: storefronts that are in tempo with the rhythm of Main Street.

Tenants include Salon Aqua, Noodles & Company, Cold Stone Creamery, EB Games and Mongolian BBQ.

Two stories up, the building steps back into a contemporary aluminum and glass façade, with 70 loft-style condominiums and residential parking. When built in 2004, SkyLofts offered a unique opportunity to live in the walkable downtown of a “hip” community and was quickly sold out.

The SkyLofts project redefined the skyline of downtown Royal Oak. Located approximately 10 miles north of Detroit, Royal Oak had long been a popular restaurant and entertainment destination. SkyLofts pioneered a wave of residential development that made Royal Oak one of the most desirable and livable communities in southeast Michigan.

Morningside came to Royal Oak with a vision and a plan that could respond to the ideas of city leaders and citizens. The development team and the city’s blue ribbon committee collaborated through a series of designs for the development, which the city approved in 2001.

In 2003, the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce named Morningside President David Strosberg its businessperson of the year.