Detroit Professional Plaza [[hammer and nail building) Demo begins

[SpartanDawg]

UPDATED Discussion With Pictures Dec. 12 >>

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Looks like they're doing prep work now. It's fenced off and has grown tentacles.

http://i.imgur.com/tceRjZJ.jpg

[Malcove Magnesia]

I guess that's one way to fix the permanently busted Hammer & Nails light sculpture.

[Hypestyles]

The building will be razed? Who owns this? how long has it been vacant?

[SpartanDawg]

The building will be razed? Who owns this? how long has it been vacant?

I believe Wayne State owns both right now? that tall building and the one closer to you in the picture [[the two story one that has comerica bank in it) are both getting demolished... Wayne State physician group is building a new 5 story office building/retail and parking garage/ground floor retail on that site.

[SpartanDawg]

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...hrise.php#more

[southen]

i find it hard to believe that the taller structure couldnt be re-clad and reused. the building itself does very little for me but i love the height of it for that area, instead we get a five story building and a potential retail structure adding very little to a very appealing area of midtown.

[chicagoforlife]

Wow what an ugly building. Is that the Fisher Building on the left in the pic? I can't really tell if that is the Fisher Building or not.

[Packman41]

UPDATED Discussion With Pictures Dec. 12 >>

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At one time the Carpenters Union occupied several of the top floors - thus the hammer sign. And at one time it was owned by an attorney group that did a lot of work representing the Union.

The building was a 60's era hot mess on the inside. Poor elevators, roof leaks and Curbed says a bad curtain wall that was too expensive to fit.

Curbed also says that John Ferchill is the developer -he must owe the Union something for missing a lot payments to the lenders on the Book Cadillac and the Carpenter's Union has the first mortgage there.

[KJ5]

Please tell me they're going to smash it with a gigantic hammer!

[KJ5]

Wow what an ugly building. Is that the Fisher Building on the left in the pic? I can't really tell if that is the Fisher Building or not.

Yes, that is Albert Kahn's Fisher Building to the far left.
- detroitforlife

[nain rouge]

Everyone in Michigan hates these 60s office buildings [[unless it was designed by Minoru Yamasaki - OMG), but I think such buildings will be an asset in the future. Great American cities are a dense mixture of architectural styles, ranging from super modern to art deco and earlier. It takes away from the long-term appeal when you begin destroying an entire decade wholesale, and it's wasteful, too. Eventually, believe it or not, buildings like that will be in style again and later generations will lament our shortsightedness [[sound familiar?).

In many cities, a building like the Professional Plaza would just be a ho-hum, functioning space that no one ever thought about. It's an indictment of our overbuilding and lack of economic vitality that buildings that aren't either a) new, or b) old enough to be considered historic fall into disuse and disrepair.

Flint recently celebrated tearing down its tallest building, Genesee Towers, while the nearly identical Parkway Towers [[same architect, same time period) hums along just fine in downtown Nashville. Of course, Flint would like you to believe that the Towers was inherently doomed by its poor design, but Nashville proves that it's just a bunch of excuses from a city that can't afford to do a job right.

[mikeg19]

In many cities, a building like the Professional Plaza would just be a ho-hum, functioning space that no one ever thought about. It's an indictment of our overbuilding and lack of economic vitality that buildings that aren't either a) new, or b) old enough to be considered historic fall into disuse and disrepair.

Well said. Why does an office building have to be a work of art? It is, in fact, possible for a building to be nondescript and just plain work. Having said that, the building does nothing for me personally, and if the reasons for demo are accurate, then I understand the reasoning. But to tear it down just to get rid of it would be a bit neglectful. There aren't many building in midtown that height, so it will be a bit of a loss for that area.

[nain rouge]

Right, and if people need a building that oozes "character" so badly, they're going to be sorely disappointed with the replacement. It's in the same spirit as the Professional Plaza, safe modern architecture.

The only legit reason we got for the demo is that the curtain wall is reportedly in bad shape. Looking at the building, though, it doesn't look the curtain wall is noticeably damaged. Yes, I'm sure a close inspection would reveal some measure of problems. Still, I find it hard to believe that renovating the curtain wall would come close to the cost of demolition and erecting a new building. Unless the new building is going to be built on the cheapcheapcheap, which wouldn't surprise me.

[Khorasaurus]

My understanding is that the new office building, the retail building, and the parking garage will take the entire space between Woodward and John R, eliminating the giant parking lot. To me, that's a win, regardless of architecture or height. The more vacant/surface parking space we fill in, the more demand for height we will have.

I don't love the idea of tearing down a building when we have plenty of vacant lots that could be developed. But I think the new will be better than the old here, and not just aesthetically.

[motz]

Everyone in Michigan hates these 60s office buildings [[unless it was designed by Minoru Yamasaki - OMG), but I think such buildings will be an asset in the future. Great American cities are a dense mixture of architectural styles, ranging from super modern to art deco and earlier. It takes away from the long-term appeal when you begin destroying an entire decade wholesale, and it's wasteful, too. Eventually, believe it or not, buildings like that will be in style again and later generations will lament our shortsightedness [[sound familiar?).

The building was a 60's era hot mess on the inside. Poor elevators, roof leaks and Curbed says a bad curtain wall that was too expensive to fit.

A building worth saving I am so glad we have defenders of Truly Functional Architecture, such as nain rouge, to insure that office workers have to deal with busted elevators, water leaks and more. The building looks like crap, is set back from the Woodward street wall [[which I am sure at least one person buzzing about this being demolished has chirped about) and is painfully outdated. I will miss the height and the hammer and nail, but if we put something that is functional and occupied in its place, that is a step forward.

[Scottathew]

There are pluses and minuses.

It sucks to see historic buildings go, but we're tearing something down so we can build something better in its place.

Detroit needs development, but we also need historic buildings.

I'm not quite sure how I feel, but what good are the historic buildings if we don't do things to repopulate this city...

[nain rouge]

I am so glad we have defenders of Truly Functional Architecture, such as nain rouge, to insure that office workers have to deal with busted elevators, water leaks and more.

Obviously, any building needs maintenance. I don't care how solid the initial construction was or wasn't - you have to continually work on a building to prevent it from decaying. There's no denying that Professional Plaza is in need of maintenance, but I don't see that as damning.

And "painfully outdated"? So was the Guardian Building in its darkest days. Should we have torn it down? The beautiful details in the lobby of the Guardian Building were covered up by a generation embarrassed by the gaudy excesses of the art deco age. They thought it looked chintzy!

How wrong they were.

The Professional Plaza wasn't built by a bunch of hacks. Later generations might come to appreciate again the well-thought-out design aesthetic behind it.

So it's set back from Woodward. Take out the parking lot in front of the building and replace it with green space. As it stands, there's plenty of room in the back parking lot for a new building facing John R. That would be the most efficient way to maximize density, but here you are telling me the current wasteful plan is the best. That stretch of Midtown will never see a building that tall for decades.

[EastsideAl]

I miss the big sign that was outside of that building for several years, with huge red letters that directed motorists to the parking lot "Enterance".

[downtownguy]

^^Hahaha. I remember that!

[Mackinaw]

Hmmm I don't know, I'd bet Midtown gets a new 12+ story building within 5 years. There's already a nine story building going up later this year. Once residential rent gets bumped a little bit higher the developers will have the wherewithal to provide some tall things along Woodward.

Not bemoaning this demo too much but I hope the new complex uses the parcel fully and does something to contribute to one's walk along Woodward.

[Gistok]

A building worth saving I am so glad we have defenders of Truly Functional Architecture, such as nain rouge, to insure that office workers have to deal with busted elevators, water leaks and more. The building looks like crap, is set back from the Woodward street wall [[which I am sure at least one person buzzing about this being demolished has chirped about) and is painfully outdated. I will miss the height and the hammer and nail, but if we put something that is functional and occupied in its place, that is a step forward.

Motz... although I too am no fan of midcentury architecture, some of the problems with the building were maintenance... and not structural. Elevators... maintenance. Leaky roof... maintenance.

I remember what was arguably the greatest loss in Midtown... Mackenzie Hall on Cass Ave.... all for the same reason... old, outdated, leaky....

[gvidas]

I'll say it again: I would love to see that hammer & nail relocated and lit up again.

If someone wants to arrange for it to come down in reassembleable pieces; store it securely; and arrange for a new home for it; I would be pretty keen on doing the neon work to relight it.

[[and re: maintenance: I would hazard a guess that the tubes in those signs are 90-99% fine, that the problems with the signs arealmost entirely electrical, and could have been solved by little more than replacing the old transformers and sequencers. Probably hasn't seen a lick of P.M. since it first went up.)

[Crew]

I'll say it again: I would love to see that hammer & nail relocated and lit up again.

If someone wants to arrange for it to come down in reassembleable pieces; store it securely; and arrange for a new home for it; I would be pretty keen on doing the neon work to relight it.

[[and re: maintenance: I would hazard a guess that the tubes in those signs are 90-99% fine, that the problems with the signs arealmost entirely electrical, and could have been solved by little more than replacing the old transformers and sequencers. Probably hasn't seen a lick of P.M. since it first went up.)

There are plans to save the Hammer and Nail but I have no idea why. That neon sign was installed maybe 10 years ago when the carpenter's union had offices in the building. It is not historic and not original to the building. It was cheap and cheesy and never worked as intended. It's funny because the carpenter's union did a remarkable job renovating the top two floors of the building while do almost no maintenance to the rest of the structure. Whole Foods looked at wrapping a store around the outside of the building bringing the footprint of the building out to Woodward but couldn't make the numbers work.

[motz]

There are plans to save the Hammer and Nail but I have no idea why. That neon sign was installed maybe 10 years ago when the carpenter's union had offices in the building. It is not historic and not original to the building. It was cheap and cheesy and never worked as intended. It's funny because the carpenter's union did a remarkable job renovating the top two floors of the building while do almost no maintenance to the rest of the structure. Whole Foods looked at wrapping a store around the outside of the building bringing the footprint of the building out to Woodward but couldn't make the numbers work.

I guess its hard to explain, but I am really fond of the hammer and nail as well. I know plenty of people my age [[late 20s-early 30s) have fond memories of it when it still worked, that might be why. I have just always associated that sign with Detroit for some reason.

[mwilbert]

I would be shocked if the hammer and nail were only 10 years old. Memory plays tricks, but I'd be surprised if it were less than 25.