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Retailers are renting stalls at $320 a month in the 150,000 square feet dedicated to the Russell Bazaar. Dennis Kefallinos, owner of the building, said about 85 percent of the stalls have been filled.

Photo: Nathan Skid

When the Russell Bazaar opens this weekend, the storied history of the Russell Industrial Center will add a new chapter — and Detroit will get more than 100 new retailers.

Designed in 1915 by legendary Detroit architect Albert Kahn, the Russell building started life as an automotive factory.

Most recently, it’s become known as a good place to have a studio. More than half the building’s 130 tenants are artists, and many of the rest are architects, designers or other creative professionals.

The Russell Bazaar occupies a mere 150,000 square feet of the 2.2 million-square-foot industrial complex, with room to expand to more than triple its current size.

Last week, the bazaar was abuzz with activity, the drone of power tools and the smell of sawdust signaling work in progress.

The cavernous space has been divided into 150 stalls, about 85 percent of which have been rented, said building owner Dennis Kefallinos, president of Dionysia Properties L.L.C. His company owns the Russell and a large number of properties around the city, including such well-known businesses as Niki’s Pizza and Loco Bar & Grill in Greektown, the River Park Lofts and the Lafayette Lofts.

Stalls go for $320 a month, said Bob Rossbach, a senior consultant with Mort Crim Communications Inc., which represents Dionysia. Kefallinos reportedly purchased the property for $1 million in 2004.

Now, Rossbach said, the property is assessed at $2.4 million.

Kefallinos said the idea was to create the kind of marketplace that’s common in Europe.

“When you think of Europe, you think of old towns, with little shops and narrow streets,” said Kefallinos, who is a native of Zakynthos, a western Greek island.

For Marlon Campbell, owner of custom printing company Magician’s Ink, the bazaar is a good way to attract new clients.

Campbell sells customized T-shirts, mugs, hats and the like at a West Chicago Road storefront in Detroit and at the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor.

“At a bazaar like this you’ll get people from everywhere,” he said. “People driving along I-75 might want to take a look. That’s how I get a lot of business from the Gibraltar Trade Center.”

Campbell said he also plans to open a hot dog stand in the bazaar.

Carol Bernert is another veteran of the Gibraltar Trade Center, where she’s sold such snacks as roasted almonds and Amish jerky for 15 years. She’s planning to open a Detroit branch of her business, Circus Treats, in the bazaar.

Bernert said she’s heard good things about the way Kefallinos treated tenants and said that, as a Detroit resident, she’d long wanted to do business in the city.

The stall rental’s reasonable rates were attractive to Charvette Williams of Detroit Lovely Cuts.

Williams, a stylist, said Detroit Lovely Cuts will operate in the bazaar as a full-service salon, offering hair cuts, manicures and pedicures as well as other standard salon services.

“I know there will be constant traffic,” she said.

Kefallinos plans to add another 130 stalls before Christmas. And if all goes well, he’ll move into the upper story next year, with about 300 additional stalls.

He’s also preparing to build out more of the center’s unused space, adding 60 new working studios from 1,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet.

Rents have historically ranged $1-$4 per square foot, with lower cost per square foot for larger spaces, he said.

Kefallinos said he conceived the Russell Bazaar as a higher-end product, a marketplace that could work hand-in-hand with the artists the complex houses.

“The idea is people who are in the building starting off can bring items down and sell them before they’re dry,” he said.

But it’s unclear whether the current tenant mix will achieve that goal. Only a few have expressed interest in the bazaar, he said.

Kefallinos said he plans to aggressively monitor the mix, with an eye toward selecting tenants who fit in a higher-end environment. But the jury’s still out among current tenants of the center, he said.

“Some tenants think it’s a good idea, some think it’s a bad idea,” he said. “At the end of the day, the people will tell (if it’s been a success)."