Sep 14, 2023 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
The Troy, Michigan, Kmart corporate office and data center will be destroyed soon. The 906,000-square-foot facility is located at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road on a 40-acre lot. No post-demolition arrangements for the site have been revealed publicly at this time. The head offices have been vacant since 2006, when Kmart transferred its headquarters to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, after its merger with Sears.
The Big Beaver Road building's unusual architecture earned it the appellation "Fort Kresge" after the original name of the Kmart corporation, S.S. Kresge Co. The structure consisted of three modular modules with an octagonal tower at each corner for stairways, restrooms, and HVAC systems. In the 1970s, when Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates were designing the building, it garnered numerous architecture awards and accolades.
In 2013, Sears announced that approximately 2,500 retail locations would be converted into data centers and disaster recovery spaces. The initiative did not materialize, and Sears declared bankruptcy in 2018. In 2005, Kmart marketed Fort Kresge to investors for $41.5 million. Even then, it was intended to be demolished to make way for apartment buildings, retailers, offices, and a hotel. The Forbes and Frankel families later acquired the property in 2009 for $17.5 million after these plans fell through due to the recession.
