Little Caesars to Build 8 Story Downtown HQ

[401don]

Has anyone else noticed that window placement on the new Little Caesars HQ building has come to a grinding halt?

They've been stuck like this for what seems like at least a month, perhaps several.
Attachment 35753

Read CassCorridor's posts No. 30 & 39 in the Hudson Site Construction thread.

[Scottathew]

Read CassCorridor's posts No. 30 & 39 in the Hudson Site Construction thread.

Thanks Don! I'm going to bring his comments to this thread:

Right now, as everyone has said, we're just tearing out the parking garage. We also are rigging up some temporary lights to put on the fence along Woodward. I'm an electrician and doing mostly disconnecting existing electrical and doing temp work. I'm bouncing back and forth between the Hudson's site and Little Caesar's World HQ. That job, which was suppose to have 4 floors turned over by April, is way behind. The lighting in that building is the most complicated [[and expensive) I've ever seen. It's turnover date has now been pushed back to November. Right now we're building out the beer garden on the 4th floor and the bar, that you can see from Woodard, on the second floor.

It's the weather. The glass guys are being super cautious because there is no other glass like that in the world. They told us they weren't setting pizza glass with winds over 10mph. I'm going to take a close up of it. It's just crazy seeing it up close. It's huge! The bigger problem right now is the 9th floor, the executive floor. The way the air handling units were designed they just so happen to be above Chris I's new office. They are so powerful they hum and vibrate and shake the whole 9th floor. Lol lol �� Chris is Not going to like that. They don't know what to do at this point. It's going to be an expensive change whatever they do.

[hybridy]

The way the air handling units were designed they just so happen to be above Chris I's new office. They are so powerful they hum and vibrate and shake the whole 9th floor.

wow, rookie mistake by a 150-yr old architecture and engineering firm. lack of oversight by management or no collaboration with their engineers. the LC GRC has been FUBAR for some time. SG has designed and redesigned that building so many times. likely not even a profitable project anymore

[southen]

wow, rookie mistake by a 150-yr old architecture and engineering firm. lack of oversight by management or no collaboration with their the LC GRC has been FUBAR for some time. SG has designed and redesigned that building so many times. likely not even a profitable project anymore

Yeah there are definitely elements of the building that seem like they had to value engineer things. The entire south face of the building looks awful to me and completely ignores the best views of the city.

[canuck]

wow, rookie mistake by a 150-yr old architecture and engineering firm. lack of oversight by management or no collaboration with their the LC GRC has been FUBAR for some time. SG has designed and redesigned that building so many times. likely not even a profitable project anymore

This is probably the reason we don’t see much sculptural glass on tallish buildings in the first place. The wind doesn’t like frilly glass. They may be able to grind it down and make Special Edition mugs out of them for their bar/pizza place later on...

This reminds me of the Aon Center and First Canadian Place rehash of their white marble cladding. The Chicago Aon Center and Toronto’s HQ of the Bank of Montreal had been designed with this white Carrara marble suggested by Edward Durrell Stone. Both buildings showed severe signs of wear due to the weather. Apparently, both cities experience some variations of extreme cold and heat. Duh. Big Chunks of marble fell to the streets endangering would-be Michaelangelos.

Both buildings were reclad: Aon Center \ 60 to 80 million$ in the early 90’s and 1st Canadian at a hundred million in 2010-11.

[Atticus]

Update now that it is July 2018. No new pizza windows have been added in months, and from the outside at least, it appears no exterior progress has been made since winter either. What gives?

Also over at LCA, the uncompleted structures surrounding the Chevy Plaza are gearing up for season #2. I swear that as each day goes by, that area around the area is looking more and more like the failed Bloomfield Park.

[EGrant]

What a symbolically Ilitch project.

[les bleus]

Update now that it is July 2018. No new pizza windows have been added in months, and from the outside at least, it appears no exterior progress has been made since winter either. What gives?

Also over at LCA, the uncompleted structures surrounding the Chevy Plaza are gearing up for season #2. I swear that as each day goes by, that area around the area is looking more and more like the failed Bloomfield Park.

Are you serious? The exterior work is nearly finished. They also added two more floors from the original concept along with a glass covered terrace so construction is still ongoing. The interior work is moving along quickly and should be finished on schedule.

That's just your opinion, but behind the scenes there's plenty of work being done. Cass Park was just recently cleaned up courtesy of Ilitch charities and renovations have been under way on the former Detroit Life Building from a month now.... http://www.districtdetroit.com/video...life-building/ Maybe walk around the area a bit and see for yourself, instead of believing the nonsense posted on message boards.

[Zads07]

Are you serious? The exterior work is nearly finished. They also added two more floors from the original concept along with a glass covered terrace so construction is still ongoing. The interior work is moving along quickly and should be finished on schedule.

That's just your opinion, but behind the scenes there's plenty of work being done. Cass Park was just recently cleaned up courtesy of Ilitch charities and renovations have been under way on the former Detroit Life Building from a month now.... http://www.districtdetroit.com/video...life-building/ Maybe walk around the area a bit and see for yourself, instead of believing the nonsense posted on message boards.

Do you work for Olympia? EMU Steve?

[SpartanDawg]

I am one of the illitches biggest fans. I have always cut them slack. I was so excited for the arena and surrounding projects. but ENOUGH is ENOUGH.

This is pathetic. their LC HQ has had work on it done if you go through their webcam. not sure what's taking them so long to finish the facade, but its still ongoing. the detroit life building is also being renovated to their credit. and at least the school of business is done.

having said all that. the two building they built shells for around their arena and have just left empty is embarassing. what they're trying to do to the cass/henry block is pathetic. their lack of development on the eddystone is AWFUL!!! that's what's making me the most mad at this point. they need to hurry up and get their stuff together. their good will with the residents of the city has ran out. put up or shut up. STOP LEVELING BUILDINGS FOR PARKING!!

they threw up a parking garage behind the eddystone in NO time. said "possible first floor retail".. and didn't put any in it. but they can't for the life of them at least begin installing windows in the eddystone?? pathetic!

[Scottathew]

Are you serious? The exterior work is nearly finished.

I'd say he's very serious. From an outside perspective [[the only perspective I have), it's been months since any significant progress has been made. The pizza windows have come to a halt.

I walk by LCHQ around once a week and take a picture. I've compared pictures and there's been little to no progress, especially for the windows.

Some of the windows have seemed to be marked with painters tape to identify issues.


I'm not in love with what the Ilitch's have done to the city with their empire of gravel lots; they have a lot to prove. I hope that they prove me wrong.

[313WX]

I wonder if the recent trade and immigration developments have anything to do with the slow down in construction...

[Scottathew]

les, here's a picture I took on May 8th, 2018. I don't see anything different.

[401don]

If casscorridor's earlier post regarding having to fix/replace the HVAC system on the top floor, due to vibration, etc. is correct, it seems they would want that done before installing the remaining windows. No excuses for lots of the other work but I can't believe they wouldn't want they're own hq completed asap.

[1953]

If they had stuck with the original, more traditional design, they'd have an occupied and attractive building by now [[or a gravel lot, because the Ilitches seem to always end up with a gravel lot).

[corktownyuppie]

If casscorridor's earlier post regarding having to fix/replace the HVAC system on the top floor, due to vibration, etc. is correct, it seems they would want that done before installing the remaining windows. No excuses for lots of the other work but I can't believe they wouldn't want they're own hq completed asap.

I'm not an Illitch loyalist by any means, but it's laughable to think that the Illitch organization is dragging their own feet on a construction project for their own headquarters.

I would accept the argument that the Illitches are dragging their feet to get any construction project *started*.

But once you start a construction project, every day wasted just makes the project more expensive. Not to mention that a halfway constructed building exposed to the elements adds an extra dimension of risk. A building under construction is like someone getting opened up for surgery. The number of negative outcomes and the amount of uncertainty gets huge while you're in the middle of a procedure. You stay open as long as you need to do get the job done, but then you close up and put in stitches as soon as you can.

I'm not arguing that you should have faith in the Illitch's goodwill. You can probably have have faith in the Illitch's desire to act in their own self-interest.

[hybridy]

If they had stuck with the original, more traditional design, they'd have an occupied and attractive building by now [[or a gravel lot, because the Ilitches seem to always end up with a gravel lot).

neo-historcism or the like is typically cost prohibitive as limestone, granite facades are high decorated and detailed. the only architect arguably doing them and doing them well today is Robert A.M. Stern, and those design are pretty stripped down. If I am Chris Illitch and I am building a global resource center as a showpiece for a corporation to attract and retain innovative + creative employees. a new historic facade covering an open amenity-filled office space would simply convey the wrong idea...

[MrMichigan]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/10/16/little-caesars-headquarters-detroit/1651522002/

DetroitYes is shouted out in this article. It also states that many of the pizza-shaped windows were cracking immediately after installation.

[Danny]

The engineers shouldn't have install pizza sliced glass windows in such a bendable shape. Think of the gusty upper level winds.

What they should have done is make the windows squared and flat and design the tinted pizza slices.

[Danny]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/10/16/little-caesars-headquarters-detroit/1651522002/

DetroitYes is shouted out in this article. It also states that many of the pizza-shaped windows were cracking immediately after installation.

Yes, way to go DYES-ERS!! That will teach Chris Illitch not to wast money on foolish projects. Why can be like Dan Gilbert? He took over half of Downtown Detroit already.

[CrashDummy]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2018/10/16/little-caesars-headquarters-detroit/1651522002/

DetroitYes is shouted out in this article. It also states that many of the pizza-shaped windows were cracking immediately after installation.

Somewhat confusing, though. After explaining what a mystery the halt in window installation has been, it is mentioned that a truckload of windows was seen outside of the building this morning with seemingly no follow up. Where did they go from there? Were they brought inside? Were they taken away? Do we really care, or do we care more about the removal of that stupid page trumpeting "Wildcat Corner" and "Cass Park Village" on District Detroit's website that everybody hated and made fun of anyway?

The top two floors have no glass installed and have been covered with sheeting for the past six months. On Tuesday morning, a truck holding stacks of glass shaped like pizza slices was parked in front of the building. A Sept. 25 press releasesaid it will open "early next year."

[hybridy]

Do we really care, or do we care more about the removal of that stupid page trumpeting "Wildcat Corner" and "Cass Park Village" on District Detroit's website that everybody hated and made fun of anyway?

IIRC, SmithGroup designed the LC GRC and helped to generate the 'neighborhood' names

[Gistok]

The cracking pizza glass is no surprise. During the August downtown theatre tours, one of the managers at the Fillmore Theatre next door mentioned the cracking as the reason behind the stopping of the installation of the pizza glass. It didn't stop building, just facade construction.

One other point of interest was that around the 5th floor of the building a circular 3 story open space was added to the internal building design [[this was visible early on from the upper floors of the Palms Building next door). Wonder if this 3 story rotunda space is a design element built for the upper level executive offices, similar to the glassed in atrium on floors 6-8 in the Fox Building above the theatre lobby.

Here we see the rooftop Fox atrium, but it appears the Little Caesars rotunda will not have a rooftop component....

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fo...!4d-83.0526662

[Bham1982]

I must say, as bad as their Illitches are in terms of food, sports and urban planning/design, I'm impressed with this. The facade looks pretty good.

[401don]

I must say, as bad as their Illitches are in terms of food, sports and urban planning/design, I'm impressed with this. The facade looks pretty good.

Shouldn't you be on the District Detroit thread saying "I told you so."? And no, this isn't sarcasm.