Mystery Buyer Spends $12.2 Million for Iconic Kahn Buildings

The opulent Fisher Building was sold Wednesday in an online auction. (Photos via auction.com)

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The Fisher Building, often called “Detroit’s largest art object,” and the companion Kahn Building sold for $12.2 million to an unknown buyer Wednesday at the close of a three-day online auction.

Besides the two buildings designed by celebrated architect Albert Kahn and notable for their grand opulence, about 2,000 parking spaces in two garages and three surface lots were sold, The Detroit News reports.

Bidding for the iconic structure, the largest marble-clad commercial building in the world, started at $3.5 million The final bid is a fraction of the $31 million selling price in 2001.

See a photo gallery and more information about the opulent skyscraper: Fisher Building, ‘Detroit’s Largest Art Object,’ On Auction Block: Gallery

The final sale is subject to confirmation.

The two art deco buildings are a monument to Detroit’s past, where money flowed so freely that the seven Fisher Brothers gave Kahn a blank check to design “the most beautiful building in the world.” The Fishers commissioned the building after selling their auto body business to General Motors.

The skyscraper occupies a spot in what was once one of the most affluent commercial centers in the world. The Fisher, like many buildings in Detroit, lost some of its sheen in the Great Recession and some experts say it will cost the new buyer $60 million to restore it.