The Parade Company announced Monday a new campaign to help raise $45 million for new headquarters along the Detroit Riverfront.
In 2021, The Parade Co. and the City of Detroit reached an agreement to purchase the old Brodhead Armory along Jefferson Ave. just past the MacArthur Bridge to Belle Isle, but the Detroit Free Press reported last month there were setbacks.
On Wednesday, The Parade Company unveiled the plans for their new headquarters, and the "Be A Heart of History" campaign. The goal is to raise money for the new 160,900-square-foot studio, design and operation headquarters.
“Our vision for the new Parade Company headquarters and studio is to create a beautiful, world-class space that is the heart and soul of Detroit,” President and CEO Tony Michaels said in a statement. “We challenged ourselves to envision a space that reimagines the Brodhead Armory and connects our near-century of tradition with our future in Detroit as one of the most stunning parade studios in the country.”
The R. Thorton Brodhead Armory was constructed in 1930 and as used as a training facility and site for civic and sporting events until it closed in 2004. The firm Rossetti created the architectural plans for rehabbing the 30,600-square-foot front portion and build an additional 130,300-square-foot expansion in the rear toward the Detroit River for The Parade Company.
According to The Parade Company, the new headquarters will also serve as a creative and production space for their team of artists, plus a space for youth summer camps, arts programs, STEAM workshops, tours and more.
More information is expected on the campaign in the coming months.
The Free Press reports The Parade Company is hoping to have everything complete by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
