David Whitney Building Renovation [Now Open for Business]

[stinkytofu]

Another typical Detroit naysayer turning a positive development into a negative commentary on the city.

You are so ignorant. I'm about as much of a Detroit cheerleader as possible, but felt the need to mention my constructive criticism of this particular development as the end product has a lot more potential than is currently being displayed. Most of my disappointment is quite fixable. Get a clue, chief.

[DetroitPlanner]

Agreed to some extent. I haven't seen the interior so I don't know, but the promised restaurants and commercial space on the lower levels should have been occupied by now. With the buying frenzy going on down there, you'd have thought that they couldn't wait to get those spaces opened up to bring in excess income. The exterior lighting I'm not as worried about, but I would like to see it happen sooner than later. Any kind of accent lighting to bring out a buildings features, IMO, makes it look so much better. I'm hoping they have plants to use it on the Whitney when it's finished as well.

Automation Alley is moving into much of the vacant commercial space.
http://www.automationalley.com/a2_nw...000000FBwUWEA1

[Eber Brock Ward]

Automation Alley is moving into much of the vacant commercial space.
http://www.automationalley.com/a2_nw...000000FBwUWEA1

Yup, and Grand Circus just moved into another 15,000 square feet of space:
http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/g...ckopening.aspx

[stinkytofu]

I've always been hopeful that the ground floor restaurants...Le Cave and Broderick Grill?...would also have some outdoor seating along Woodward. I really hope that happens.

[Lowell]

To clarify, there IS a giant trash chute [[on the Whitney). It's on the right edge of Lowell's last update picture... like a terra cotta red color. I know it is in use... when I went and watched TF4 filming a few days during lunch, there would be giant rumbles like explosions, when there was no action going on [[it was batches of materials being thrown 20 floors down the metal chute, about 1/2 block away). They also were doing some MAJOR excavation on the Washington Blvd side in June-July, down several floors worth in the sidewalk, probably a 20x20 foot hole. Not sure what for, but it was more than just removing some bricks.

Workers at the Whitney have been permitted to park on the Statler footprint which was left cleanly gravel paved and fenced following demolition of the Transformers 4 set. To give you an idea of the scale of the effort, there has to be 50-60 cars parked there daily.

As mentioned by Cramerro the rumble of debris going down the metal chute as been almost non stop for several weeks. Worker have been abundantly visible on, in and atop the structure. This IS happening.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Okay, but anything on Cap Park or can we assume that's dead?

I was looking forward to that three-for more than any other project, what with the new Gilbert one and the place where the seniors got a year's notice, my fav place in the city would come further back to life in a major way.

[gumby]

Well with the Farwell Building I believe I read that it was Karp and Associates out of Lansing that was doing that one. If I am right about that I would have high hopes that it will be completed and be absolutely awesome. They did the Durant Hotel up here in Flint and it is absolutely gorgeous. It was trashed and no one really thought it could be rescued after being abandoned since the 70s. But now it is a huge source of pride at the north end of Downtown Flint.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Cool, thanks. Good to hear.

[Hypestyles]

what's the target date for the grand opening-- if any?

[subsidized]

Curbed Detroit's Facebook page is reporting that there was a fire on the 15th floor late last night. Witnesses say the DFD turnout was huge and they were able to extinguish the fire quickly.


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=1&theater

[jw101]

Passed by downtown today on my way to Columbus[[great example for Detroit), to see more of the reddish brick exposed on the Woodward side. Looks like it's going to be totally different in the end.

[Hardhat]

There are about 80 construction workers at the Whitney Building. Some hazardous materials abatement work is remaining, much of it is already complete. Plumbers, electricians, sheet metal workers and carpenters have started rough-in work in the past few weeks. Walbridge is managing the project and knows what it's doing. They're employing unionized building trades workers, like they always do, so the job will be done right. The Whitney Buildings will be a treasure once again upon the completion of its renovation, expected in July 2014.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Is there a rendering of the imagined finished building? I am very excited for it.

[Hardhat]

This article, from 10/18/13 edition of The Building Tradesman, provides an update on the project. The paper is the official publication of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council. There are a few photos at the link. Happily, plans call for the re-installation of the removed cornices.

http://www.michiganbuildingtrades.or...html#article03

Residential, retail next purpose for revamped Whitney Building

By Marty Mulcahy
Managing Editor DETROIT – Nearly a century after it opened, it’s the David Whitney Building’s turn to make a triumphant resurrection.
Like so many buildings in downtown Detroit that have been renovated, re-purposed and re-opened in recent years, the Whitney is currently undergoing work that will make it a valuable piece of property once again.
The 19-story tower opened in 1915, providing retail space and professional offices for doctors, dentists and lawyers on the ring of buildings at Grand Circus Park. Along with a fellow “David” building across Woodward – the newly renovated 34-story David Broderick Tower – the pair of buildings have until recently been empty anchors of Grand Circus Park. The Whitney building’s tenants dwindled over the years, leading to its closure in 2000.
Now, the Roxbury Group and hotel management company Trans Inns Management are undertaking a wholesale, $82 million renovation of the Whitney building, creating ground-floor retail space, a 136-room boutique hotel on the first nine floors, and 108 apartments on the top nine floors. Construction manager Walbridge is overseeing the project, utilizing a 100 percent union workforce.
It took much of the past decade to arrange the financing and the right deal to redevelop the property. David DiRita, a partner in the Roxbury Group, said the project would “mark the dawn of Detroit's next golden age.”
The building was named for 19^th Century lumber baron David Whitney. “Done in the Chicago skyscraper style and completed in 1915,” says the Detroit Historical Society, “the David Whitney Building was designed with a five-story atrium area where shops could be located. The atrium was done in white tile, terra cotta and marble in the Italian Renaissance style. The public corridors in the building had Italian marble floors and walls. For several decades, the Whitney was a prestigious location for medical offices. Through several decades of changes and additional years of vacancy, the building has remained full of potential.”
Now the potential is becoming reality. Walbridge will maintain and where necessary, refurbish all the doors, woodwork, and extensive terra cotta and marble elements found on public spaces in the interior. The exterior, mostly brick with some terra cotta, is being rehabilitated, and horizontal architectural cornices on four levels that were removed in the 1950s will be recreated to add definition to the exterior.
The building was originally designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham.
“It was a tired building, and we’re at the beginning of the refreshing process,” said Walbridge Senior Project Manager Michael Colombo. “After 100 years, it’s beginning to reveal itself again. It’s a well-known building, and a lot of people are glad that it’s being resurrected. We’re happy to be a part of it.”
Renovation work began in March with hazardous materials abatement, a process that was ongoing earlier this month. Other ongoing projects include some steel reinforcement in the basement, as well as the start of sprinkler, plumbing, sheetmetal and electrical rough-in work. Masons are also busy on the exterior. About 80 Hardhats are currently employed, and the project will peak out at about 100. Work is expected to be complete next July.
Colombo, along with Walbridge Project Supt. Jason Arsenault, said the location of the building creates a number of challenges, including the use of part of the building’s first and second floors as a People Mover stop. “Logistically, we have streets on three sides of the building, we have neighbors we’re sensitive to [[including dwellers in the Broderick Tower) and we have Comerica Park just over there. We have the People Mover. There’s a lot of traffic,” Colombo said.
Unlike other empty buildings in downtown Detroit which have been gutted by urban scavengers or left open to the weather, the Whitney Building’s interior has remained in relatively good condition. The basement, for example, remained dry over all these years. “It’s a very proud building, with a lot of character and good bones,” Arsenault said.
The building’s exterior has a few issues, both in terms of the removed cornices and the condition of the brick. Ram Construction has the contract for rehabilitation, removal and replacement of faulty exterior brick, and adding the aforementioned cornices.
A Ram spokesman said the initial scope of the project identified about 11,000 square-feet of “disbonded” brick on the exterior, which need to replaced due to cracks, fatigue or oxidation. That number has since “ballooned” the spokesman said, as masons have probed the walls. Bricks fell from the east side of the building two years ago before any renovation work started. Brick Tech is a local firm that is making thousands of white speckled brick to match the original. A good cleaning of the masonry will make the building look as good as new.
“While it was spared the wrecking ball, in 1959, the Whitney family hired the architectural firm of Harley, Ellington & Day to give the structure a modern makeover,” says the Detroit Historical Society. “The building’s classical exterior was removed in favor of a more modern, bland look. The building’s classical columns were replaced with plain brick. The cornice, parapet and terra cotta details were removed. Fortunately, the building’s ornate interior was spared the mutilation.”
And by next summer, the David Whitney Building will be renovated, restored and ready for the next 100 years – inside and out.

[belleislerunner]

Walbridge was also the project managers on the downtown jail which ended up hundreds of millions over budget - and an eyesore.

The renovation for Whitney is moving along - but the project management folks at Walbridge definitely need to up their game.

[buckster1986]

The grand detail is coming back at the Whitney Building... signs of great things to come...

[Gistok]

Buckster1986, you have encountered here in DYES the same problem that others have encountered elsewhere, such as on Facebook... namely that when you use a camera-phone and take a sideways picture... rotating it before posting gives for exasperating results... the image rotates back to sideways, even though you uploaded it as an up/down pic. Been there, done that... very frustrating.

[dtowncitylover]

An update from MLive...

http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi..._river_default

[buckster1986]

Buckster1986, you have encountered here in DYES the same problem that others have encountered elsewhere, such as on Facebook... namely that when you use a camera-phone and take a sideways picture... rotating it before posting gives for exasperating results... the image rotates back to sideways, even though you uploaded it as an up/down pic. Been there, done that... very frustrating.

I think I figured it out... very frustrating...

[buckster1986]

The second photo...

[Honky Tonk]

I see they've finally righted the David Whitney Building, good news! Whose in the office the yellow arrows are pointing to?

[buckster1986]

I see they've finally righted the David Whitney Building, good news! Whose in the office the yellow arrows are pointing to?

I added them to show the architectural detail that is being restored. The building was stripped down to be more "modern" during previous renovations.

[gthomas]

Are their any plans to upgrade the people mover station, will those stairs be removed?

[Gistok]

Thanks buckster1986!! Very nice images! It's really nice that the Whitney Building is restoring its' cornices... too bad that the Broderick Tower didn't restore the Chippendale Highboy cornice along the top of the tower. Maybe it's a future consideration?

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Are their any plans to upgrade the people mover station, will those stairs be removed?

I remember reading that the original [[from the building) PM station will be restored. I don't know if that means the stairs would be removed or converted to just an emergency exit.