Detroit Couple Transforms 1925 Bank and Adjacent Bar into $1.3 Million Home

In 2013 Lynne Savino and her husband Michael purchased an abandoned 1925 bank building and the adjacent former bar at 3415 Michigan Ave. for $66,000 through an estate sale. After selling their previous home, they spent years restoring the property themselves, living on-site while the renovation progressed. Original elements such as half-round windows, a copper entrance vestibule and marble windowsills were preserved, while the main vault became a living space and the basement vault was turned into a wine cellar.

A loft, now the primary bedroom, was created in the former DJ booth area, and a 20-foot kitchen island and custom koi-fish mural were added. The finished two-bedroom, two-bath home spans about 3,000 sq ft and is listed for $1.3 million; the neighboring bar, now an Airbnb with three loft units, is priced at $485,000. Listing agent Endrina Halili Malkowski of Keller Williams Legacy highlighted the conversion as a uniquely residential reuse of a historic bank.