Detroit Dry Dock/Globe Building gets $12.8M

[Rocko]

I'm happy to see the building adaptively reused, but......



Here's the rendering Wheels linked larger. It does look better from this angle. But a close comparison makes it look like the 3rd story of the historic facade will be ripped off along Atwater....and will it even retain its gabled roof?? The rendering isn't clear. And given the layout of the building[[s), you'd think they could preserve the outer faces along Orleans, Atwater and the old Dequindre Cut branch, and then insert the new construction in the center of the "u," thereby maintaining the historic character and exterior for most of the public viewshed. The Rivertown neighborhood has a character which cannot be found anywhere else in Detroit, and the while I'm happy this important industrial facade will be partially saved, we can't afford to lose any more of the brick and mortar character which is found here. Gistok called this "adaptive reuse lite," I'd call it double diet historic preservation at its very best.....it's hardly more than a partial facadectomy unless I'm missing some important details.....

[Gistok]

Rocko... now I'm confused... your freep image is slightly different from Wheels image... which does show a 3rd floor... but only half high windows along Atwater... but it looks like only about 8 or 9 bays of windows starting at the Dequindre Cut going westward. So that's exactly half of the complex.... with about 2/3 of this corner part of the building [[12 bays along Atwater) preserved.

[Jason]

This rendering is looking west, and the little plaza where all the people are is the entrance to the Dequindre Cut.

The other render [[the one with the more colorful facade) is looking west, from the corner of Atwater and Orleans. That's the new facade. The parking lot shown in that render is currently occupied by the part of the building that will be demolished.



Without knowing the details about the inside of the building and what exactly is going inside of it and all of that kind of stuff, it's hard to be too critical. Without knowing those details I'd rather have the entire facade resorted, and have the northern part of that block [[do they own it? if not how hard would it be for them to get it?) be the parking lot which could be shared with the other parks along the riverfront. The main entrance being on the SE side makes sense, to make an easy transition between it the park and the dequindre cut, and reinforce that it's a public recreational building and not condos.

[Rocko]

Gistok: YOU'RE RIGHT! I didn't pay enough attention that the rendering from the Michigan.gov press release seems to be a revision of the one I posted, which is linked from a Free Press article about the state's plans for the building from May, 2012. So maybe their renderingist [[renderinger?) umm.....forgot to add the partial third story? Since the state article is much more recent, I bet that is the more correct rendering.

I am, however, glad to see that is looks like the flat-roof brick addition in the NE corner of the complex fronting the Dequindre Cut will be preserved. While some might say that the southwest corner fronting Atwater and Orleans is the primary public face of the building today, I would be willing to bet that will shift to the southeast corner fronting Atwater's juncture with the Dequindre Cut in the future.