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Meridian Health boosts planned new Detroit HQ by 60% UPDATE: Construction cancelled
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Just saw this... quite the update... will be the height of one woodward... and also will actually affect our skyline as well! awesome news!
Wonder if they'll change the design of the building to better reflect the lot design as well... i'm hoping they make it flush with cadillac square building
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Wow! I think this is good... Same height as the First National [[not sure why they used One Woodward as a comparison).
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pictures
Attachment 24379 I think it'll be taller than first national even.. this is the original rendering at 16 stories... add on another 10 to it and it should definitely start creeping near the top of the cadillac tower
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The comparison to One Woodward Ave., originally the ANR Gas Building is appropriate because it too has 26 stories of offices space.
I agree... a better use of the footprint would be great for a taller tower... perhaps a pentagonal tower [[smaller footprint than the hollow Compuware Bldg.)... would work there as well as it did for Compuware.
I can't think of a better candidate of a building design for going back to the drawing board.... ;)
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and this bit of good news [[one less surface parking lot):
"The site, owned by the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, is currently a 230-space surface parking lot."
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Apparently I've blown through my free articles...
Any word on a planned break ground date?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
stinkytofu
Apparently I've blown through my free articles...
Any word on a planned break ground date?
I usually just do a Google search on "Crains Detroit" + Topic Name.... to get to view the entire Crains articles.... ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gistok
I usually just do a Google search on "Crains Detroit" + Topic Name.... to get to view the entire Crains articles.... ;)
It also works if you view the page in "incognito" mode.
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Welp, so much for those rumors that this project was cancelled..
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Meridian and its new building near Gilbert Square just across the street from Dan Gilbert Plaza will make huge impact on Gilberttown Detroit regional business.
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I hear it is going to be 2,000 stories tall, but only 10 feet wide.
Seriously folks, you think they are going to build all of this new space when they can just move into existing space for less? Compuware has already announced it is going to downsize. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/compuw...130000621.html
"DETROIT, Sept. 10, 2014 [[GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation [[CPWR) today announced that it plans to operationally separate its mainframe and APM businesses and that the resulting mainframe-dedicated company will carry the Compuware name."
Sounds like a sell off/downsizing to me!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
I hear it is going to be 2,000 stories tall, but only 10 feet wide.
Seriously folks, you think they are going to build all of this new space when they can just move into existing space for less? Compuware has already announced it is going to downsize.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/compuw...130000621.html
"
DETROIT, Sept. 10, 2014 [[GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation [[CPWR) today announced that it plans to operationally separate its mainframe and APM businesses and that the resulting mainframe-dedicated company will carry the Compuware name."
Sounds like a sell off/downsizing to me!
you win the award for worst post of all time. Can't tell if you're being sarcastic but if you're being serious, delete your account please
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
I hear it is going to be 2,000 stories tall, but only 10 feet wide.
Seriously folks, you think they are going to build all of this new space when they can just move into existing space for less? Compuware has already announced it is going to downsize.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/compuw...130000621.html
"
DETROIT, Sept. 10, 2014 [[GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation [[CPWR) today announced that it plans to operationally separate its mainframe and APM businesses and that the resulting mainframe-dedicated company will carry the Compuware name."
Sounds like a sell off/downsizing to me!
Maybe. "Operationally separate" doesn't mean downsize, it means split into two separate operating businesses. Of course they could downsize without "operationally separating", so it doesn't mean they aren't either.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
I hear it is going to be 2,000 stories tall, but only 10 feet wide.
Seriously folks, you think they are going to build all of this new space when they can just move into existing space for less? Compuware has already announced it is going to downsize.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/compuw...130000621.html
"
DETROIT, Sept. 10, 2014 [[GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation [[CPWR) today announced that it plans to operationally separate its mainframe and APM businesses and that the resulting mainframe-dedicated company will carry the Compuware name."
Sounds like a sell off/downsizing to me!
Even if Compuware did downsize, Meridan needs 520,000 square feet according to Crain's. That's already half of Compuware HQ's total building size. Unless Dan Gilbert moves out of Compuware as well, Meridian aint gonna fit. And in fact, Meridian aint gonna fit anywhere else because most other downtown skyscrapers are 80-90% occupied and have a total square footage smaller than 500,000 square feet. The fact is, there's no space for a company this size to occupy which means they have to build new.
The rumor that Merdian was going to move into Compuware is based on if Compuware had left Detroit completely, not just downsizing.
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Meridian is in Several Floors of 1001 and the Kennedy Square buildings already.
People get all giddy about building size. That is not important to our local economy NEW JOBS are.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
Meridian is in Several Floors of 1001 and the Kennedy Square buildings already.
People get all giddy about building size. That is not important to our local economy NEW JOBS are.
Well, the good news is that it appears that Meridian is planning for significant job growth in the future which would be new jobs.
If they are building new I'm sure their structure would be planned to hold all their employees. Why would they build relatively smaller and still have employees in different buildings other than HQ?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
Meridian is in Several Floors of 1001 and the Kennedy Square buildings already.
People get all giddy about building size. That is not important to our local economy NEW JOBS are.
For whatever reason, I thought they filled office buildings with employees. Guess Merdian wanted to build a new building just for the heck of it.
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Stay tuned, the story is changing?
"Editor's note: A story posted on Thursday afternoon about plans for the new Meridian Health Plan building in downtown Detroit contained information from sources that Crain's later learned was not reflective of the company's latest plans.
Crain's is working to clarify the information and update the story."
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Meridian is planning to fly in a skyscraper from Dubai.
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I hear Meridian is going to get away from employing humans and replacing them with talking apes and Bill Bonds will be the ringleader.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
Meridian is in Several Floors of 1001 and the Kennedy Square buildings already.
People get all giddy about building size. That is not important to our local economy NEW JOBS are.
Whether the story of this project expanding is true or not, this mindset is very short-sighted. Company's build to account/allow for future growth, which it seems Meridien is doing in this case. When they leave the few floors they occupy in the other building you mention, the hope is that smaller firms will fill in the gaps. And given the demand for Class A office space downtown these days, I don't think the 1001 and Kennedy Square gaps will be empty for long.
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I agree, Eliboyer. The strong trends downtown and the push to continue consolidation of corporations and employees there warrants appropriate height, to say nothing about the aesthetic considerations.
Staying tuned for Crains' update. It's current fact-check blurb is, well, possibly ominous. But I don't think they could have gotten the 26-stories lead from nowhere.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
I hear Meridian is going to get away from employing humans and replacing them with talking apes and Bill Bonds will be the ringleader.
I heard they're going to be stacking converted shipping containers as needed.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mackinaw
I agree, Eliboyer. The strong trends downtown and the push to continue consolidation of corporations and employees there warrants appropriate height, to say nothing about the aesthetic considerations.
Staying tuned for Crains' update. It's current fact-check blurb is, well, possibly ominous. But I don't think they could have gotten the 26-stories lead from nowhere.
allegedly someone got a hold of a very obsolete "dream"/"every bell and whistle" wishlist memo for the new building which in no way reflects reality and ran with it as a scoop. ALLEGEDLY. someone I know could also just be talking out of their hat...
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Crains now reporting the entire project is cancelled.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
bassab
Crains now reporting the entire project is cancelled.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...g-firm-cancels
LOL - well, that was a giant clusterf***. In the end, however, happy to hear they are planning on adding a host of new jobs and that'll eat up plenty of open office space. The less open office space downtown going forward will lead to more interest in building new.
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Well this is pretty disappointing. Though it wasn't at all unexpected. Either way a parking lot lives to see another day. :eek:
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Disappointing to hear they are canceling the project, but still exciting that they intend to add about 1,500 jobs to downtown. Quite a turn from the original article though!
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Isn't One Detroit Center [[former Comerica Tower) still about half empty? If so there really isn't a need to build a new building for Meridian...
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As far as I know the building is not cancelled. The article posted does not say that. It addresses that the need to build a million square foot super structure was a bit premature. Meridian is still filling offices downtown folks and generating a lot of economic activity right on Campus Martius.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
As far as I know the building is not cancelled. The article posted does not say that. It addresses that the need to build a million square foot super structure was a bit premature. Meridian is still filling offices downtown folks and generating a lot of economic activity right on Campus Martius.
This is their latest. Weird though you can't access the quotes from an hour ago with Meridian people saying no new building.
Correction: Meridian to expand, but not in new building; firm cancels plans to build Detroit tower
09/12/14 - 10:41 a.m.Meridian Health Plan has canceled plans for a new 16-story headquarters in Detroit and instead plans to lease space downtown in one of several unspecified buildings for its growing workforce, a company executive told Crain's today.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
DetroitPlanner
As far as I know the building is not cancelled. The article posted does not say that. It addresses that the need to build a million square foot super structure was a bit premature. Meridian is still filling offices downtown folks and generating a lot of economic activity right on Campus Martius.
I don't know how much more clear John can be here...
Quote:
Crain’s reported Thursday that Meridian planned to increase the space in a planned new building by 60 percent. In reality, the company no longer plans the new construction project.
.....
"We are committed to Detroit, but it doesn't make sense for us or Detroit to build new when there is a plethora of good buildings out there," [John] Cotton said.
not to be all "I told you so..." but...
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Bet ya the CEO realized he wouldn't be able to afford his new Bentley and promptly decided to not invest in his company's future :[[ Oh well. At least they are staying downtown!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
motz
Bet ya the CEO realized he wouldn't be able to afford his new Bentley and promptly decided to not invest in his company's future :[[ Oh well. At least they are staying downtown!
This is nonsense. They are hiring a ton of new employees and leasing a ton of new office space downtown. They are plenty invested in their future as well as the city. Don't knock them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
bailey
I don't know how much more clear John can be here...
not to be all "I told you so..." but...
This is the link I was referring to: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...g-firm-cancels
I thought it was fishy that suddenly the building would grow too. Made no sense in light of the fact that they have lots of floors in existing buildings and there is still other space available.
I just realized that what I am reading is not the full thing. I do not have a subscription. Work gets paper copies delivered weekly so I have no real need for it.
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Is it true that they are dedicating their resources to building barns on the GP and City border instead?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
stinkytofu
This is nonsense. They are hiring a ton of new employees and leasing a ton of new office space downtown. They are plenty invested in their future as well as the city. Don't knock them.
If you're planning on continuing to grow and increase your market share, invest and plan in the future. They won't be able to build that same building in 10 years if downtown keeps its current pace. This needs to be viewed for them as investing in the future to be able to grow and keep all of their teams in one, central building. I worked for a company that employs about 1200 people that were split between 4 different offices, and the only time you saw some coworkers was holiday parties. Now that they're under one roof, things run infinitely more smooth and they are able to be much more productive due to the investment the company was willing to make to ensure the company can grow.
Yeah, I'm glad they are moving downtown, but I suspect they are recognizing that either they are not growing as fast as they expected or someone realized that money wasn't going to go to profits or shareholders or whatever and decided to nix it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
motz
Yeah, I'm glad they are moving downtown, but I suspect they are recognizing that either they are not growing as fast as they expected or someone realized that money wasn't going to go to profits or shareholders or whatever and decided to nix it.
Meridian can't physically be any more Downtown than it already is. They're in the E&Y and 1001 Woodward building. There is plenty of lease space around to get everyone under one roof....especially once the hedge funds get done parting out Compuware---er um.. I mean "not making any changes whatsoever".
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Methinks Bedrock made them an offer they couldn't refuse.
As for Crain's, it's not like them to get duped by a bad source. Let's hope this is one time misstep and not a shift towards tabloid journalism for them. I mean, how hard would it have been to check the validity of their source?
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If in fact they continue to grow, add jobs and fill up existing vacant space, I'll take that as a win. Maybe not a much as a new building though....
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That's is very stupid of them! Detroit is where the prime capital is. Now the piece of area where Kirkwood Hotel and Family Theater once stood and the rest of the Monroe Block will remain the one surface parking lot. Go invest some place else, Meridian. If you can't be part of Gilberttown's progress, you're part of the problem!
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what about some of the empty buildings along Washington Boulevard?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Gistok
Isn't One Detroit Center [[former Comerica Tower) still about half empty? If so there really isn't a need to build a new building for Meridian...
Quite a few new tenants have been coming in lately but still about 10 floors empty though. I guess that is less than half, but still some vacancies. Will also be several more floor open when GSA leaves the building in 2016-17.
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They're still contributing to the health of downtown, and I think the site deserves a better building than what they were proposing. My relief outweighs my disappointment.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jason
They're still contributing to the health of downtown, and I think the site deserves a better building than what they were proposing. My relief outweighs my disappointment.
You realize the alternative is going to end up being not nearly as tall and will probably have the same, if not an absolutely worse, look, right? I am not holding out hopes that that site will even see development, let along anything that would make me feel "relieved" about a skyline-defining structure not going up.
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Detroit doesn't really need a skyline defining structure. It's shouldn't be among the cities top priorities. I guess when demand warrants, there will be a new tower. Making the city livable, and continuing to fill in vacant spaces should be our top priorities.
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Maybe they will be lead tenant in the new Hudsons Building...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
motz
You realize the alternative is going to end up being not nearly as tall and will probably have the same, if not an absolutely worse, look, right? I am not holding out hopes that that site will even see development, let along anything that would make me feel "relieved" about a skyline-defining structure not going up.
I'll take a building half as tall if it means that hideous parking structure isn't going to be built either.
