Detroit Dry Dock/Globe Building gets $12.8M

**Russix** · October-06-12, 11:01 PM

http://www.freep.com/article/2012100...sey=nav%7Chead

How long has the state owned this? I thought the plan was for residential.

**DetBill** · October-06-12, 11:47 PM

Certainly agree with you on this one, I thought just recently even that plans were announced for residential... and now this article,, I mean , I am very glad they are doing something with it,, and it does sound interesting,, but,, Im totally confused on this one... There isnt even mention of the residential plans that were announced by some developers even up until recently... Very odd.

**Richard** · October-07-12, 12:44 AM

The state had already disclosed it becoming a state park about a year ago,there is a discussion about it here somewhere.

There is so much contamination there that if you touch the soil and lick your finger your lifespan will be greatly diminished,which questions how many millions on clean up is going to take place over and above and how it is going to be made safe.

Something else about a couple of 20,000 gallon underground tanks that seem to have been displaced somewhere.

Of course being the state they can allocate brownfield and come up with funding no questions asked,convenient.

In 2011 it was Globe Building Adventure and Discovery Center Acquisition [[Wayne County) – $9 million.This funding would be used by the DNRE to acquire 48,000 square feet of built-out space in the Globe Building for the William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor Adventure and Discovery
Center in downtown Detroit.

Now it is bumped up to $12.8 million ,it is nice I guess that the state is willing to pay those kinds of monies for a property,good for comps not so much for the taxpayers though. How much is that per sqft?

**Gistok** · October-07-12, 12:58 AM

Am I the only one to find the new rendering butt ugly?

I guess the new construction half will clash nicely with the nice warm brick color that the historic part has... once half the historic building is demolished for new construction... nice...

**Richard** · October-07-12, 01:06 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Am I the only one to find the new rendering butt ugly?

What happened to the nice warm brick color that the historic building had? Oh, and half the building will be demolished for new construction... nice...

calling it butt ugly is being polite

nothing like the throw back days of using an "up dated" facade that will be obsolete in another 5 years.

**Gistok** · October-07-12, 01:08 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

calling it butt ugly is being polite

nothing like the throw back days of using an "up dated" facade that will be obsolete in another 5 years.

Richard... it will have all the "dated" charm of a 1950s HCMA [[Huron-Clinton Metro Parks) concessions building....

... or the chic hipness of "Dollar Store Moderne"....

**Richard** · October-07-12, 01:17 AM

yea it kinda screams "I am a highway rest stop". Not very warm and welcoming at all.

**DetroitPlanner** · October-07-12, 06:37 AM

Residential would be a poor use for this building. The amount of retrofitting to turn a dry dock [[large open interior) to a multi-floor, apartment building would never work. You would need to to some very heavy engineering to make sure the floors would be load bearing as the building was never built to handle that kind of load. This would mean it would cost way more to build than they could ever get out of it in rent.

Using it to expand the State Park is a great idea. You get to save the building and use it for the public good.

Regarding the rendering, renderings rarely look like the finished product. The Department of the Interior will require the building's exterior to be rebuilt as close as possible to what it was when it was first built.

I assume that this rendering is this corner. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=detroi...12,132.67,,0,0

Right now you ain't working with much. Hobbs+Black also did the Hotel Fort Shelby Restortation as well as turned an old church in Ann Arbor to their HQ. I would not worry too much.

**Zacha341** · October-07-12, 07:17 AM

Hah, ha! --

--

Originally Posted by Richard

There is so much contamination there that if you touch the soil and lick your finger your lifespan will be greatly diminished...

**John** · October-07-12, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by Richard

There is so much contamination there that if you touch the soil and lick your finger your lifespan will be greatly diminished

Oh, please

**corktownyuppie** · October-07-12, 09:49 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Right now you ain't working with much. Hobbs+Black also did the Hotel Fort Shelby Restortation as well as turned an old church in Ann Arbor to their HQ. I would not worry too much.

Hobbs+Black just finished working on a project that I'm involved with to convert a church built in the 1890s into a residential property housing 45 tenants on Michigan's campus. The result is stunningly beautiful.

I think people will be pleased with the outcome here...yes the rendering leaves much to be desired.

**Bad Brains** · October-08-12, 02:47 AM

I don't know If I like the plan and I'm not sure it will work, but at least they are actually trying something instead of blindly tearing the place down.

**downtownguy** · October-08-12, 01:00 PM

This concerns me, especially coming from George "always surprises" Jackson.

Remaking the Globe will require major surgery. About half of the building on the western side will be removed to make way for a more modern structure, into which the eastern section will be incorporated. “This is not an easy project. No historic property is an easy project, let me assure you. There will always be surprises,” Jackson said.

I wonder why it is necessary to remove half the western portion? That's a considerable section of this historic structure. Wouldn't it be better to find a way to adapt it to whatever purpose the "more modern" structure is intended for?

Take a look at this 45 degree view from Google. You see just how massive the building is. The western part they talk about is on the left side in this view.

Google view

**Hypestyles** · October-08-12, 01:34 PM

hopefully the work will get started right away.

**Gambling Man** · October-09-12, 07:21 AM

Roxbury is the Development arm of Walbridge. They have given a ton of money to everyone in Lansing. Good to see it is paying off for them.

**DetroitPlanner** · October-09-12, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by Gambling Man

Roxbury is the Development arm of Walbridge. They have given a ton of money to everyone in Lansing. Good to see it is paying off for them.

Isn't stuff like that why Kwame is on trial!?!?

**Baselinepunk** · October-09-12, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by Russix

http://www.freep.com/article/2012100...sey=nav%7Chead

How long has the state owned this? I thought the plan was for residential.

It's nice to see that the approved ballot issue for funding has flushed the DNR system with a lot of cash. I don't really care for Dick Synder riding around town sprinkling his pixie dust amongst the masses -- he's still a jerk and always will be. I'm sure what will happen with this project is some form of half-assed facadism. However, I'm pretty sure that some good people at the State level will be [[hopefully) involved so that things don't too out of control, and that the project is as green and captures as much historic integrity as possible.

BTW -- WTF is Dick Synder doing in Detroit anyway? Doesn't he and his buddies have some more unconstitutional legislation to push through, and waste some more taxpayer money in the courts?

They better get a move on; November is upon us and there is a ton of money to waste ...

**southen** · October-10-12, 09:04 AM

my hope is that they dont turn the rest of that block into a sea of parking. a modest parking lot and making use of the street parking would be nice. the riverfront is open and vast now, but they have the opportunity to do some planning and i think it needs to start with making the area dense and walkable.

**Gistok** · October-10-12, 11:26 AM

Thanks for the view Downtownguy... IIRC, they want to take exactly half of the building away... so even rightmost building on Atwater will be sliced apart. Look at all the open land around this complex... mark my words... they'll be adding to the empty land by putting parking on the leftmost side of the Globe footprint.

It would have been nice if they left the Orleans, Atwater and Dequindre Cut facades, and just demolished the interior rabble of building additions to give it a "U" shape. I guess we'll have just half a streetwall along Atwater... and none along Orleans.

**Wintersmommy** · October-10-12, 04:30 PM

the lot to the left of the building [[and behind the building) has been "groomed" in the last few weeks. Underbrush cut away , mowed, bushed pulled ect..it is much better to run by there now ..before i was always scared of what was hiding in that tall underbrush and had visions of a huge dog trying to kill me [[ok a bit exaggerated but still )

**canuck** · October-10-12, 06:23 PM

This building reminds me eerily of the New City Gas Bldg in my city that was threatened for a long time and is now being used as a music and cultural venue. There was a summit held there earlier this year with FF Coppola, Michael Eisner and a bunch of people discussing creativity in business and the arts. It will eventuallly be surrounded by the new Griffintown neighborhood. This part of the city close to downtown was a shabby mix of industrial and residential bldgs and neglected by all until the city engaged developers in the possible revaluation of the old Lachine Canal and condos are now sprouting in the area. These historically important buildings need to not only be protected but used in ways unintended by their original builders. They don't have to become museums but their presence does emphasize the important contributions of industry to our history, our surroundings.

http://www.heritagemontreal.org/en/new-city-gas-2/

http://newcitygas.com/media/

**Gistok** · October-10-12, 06:40 PM

Very interesting Canuck... reminds me of an urban version of "The Barns at Wolf Trap" just outside the beltway in Virginia, where two 18th century barns were relocated and joined to make a performing arts center [[sort of a Meadowbrooke).

Unfortunately Detroit has quite a number of surviving [[as well as pending) performing arts centers... so although it would be a very interesting thing to do, it's one thing we've got enough of. But this butchering half of the complex goes against the grain of much of what Historic Preservation stands for... this is more like "adaptive reuse lite"...

But I guess the "half a building is better than no building" argument will win the day here...

**canuck** · October-10-12, 07:03 PM

I know what you mean Gistok, I'm just glad the Globe is not only on hold, but is receiving attention [[$) for a better future. There are plenty of other venues as you say in need of attendance.

**Wheels** · October-10-12, 07:42 PM

Rendering here looks much better.

http://www.michigan.gov/snyder/0,466...7949--,00.html

**Jason** · October-10-12, 08:27 PM

I do like renovations, but so much of the building here is being demolished or changed that it seems like you'd end up with a nicer building by just building new. To be honest I think the reason it's a "renovation" at all is for political reasons.

I also think it's funny how much branding the DNR has there. There's a compass in the pavement nearby with the DNR's logo in the middle, and then in the rendering the D, N, and R in "adventure" are highlighted red. :P

Depending on the quality of the residential development [[if and when it happens anyway) I think that will be one of the nicest places to live in the city.