[detroit_alive]

Here you have it folks! This is what will replace People's Outfitting/Detroit Commerce Building:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/etlchow/thegriswold.jpg

[toog05]

Absolutely Wonderful!

[hudkina]

Nice. I would prefer it to be entirely office/condo, but I'll take it.

[mind field]

Wow, now that is classy. I hope our crumbling economy can continue to support the momentum of downtown Detroit.

[ColDayMan]

Pretty good!

[LMich]

I got in contact with my contact for Kraemer Design, and he said that this is still preliminary, and that the design hasn't been finalized, but that this is definitely what they are aiming for.

Considering this thing was originally planned as just a parking garage for the B-C, this is more than nice enough. I hope other downtown developers (and future downtown developers) take note. They no longer have an excuse for poor-quality architecture.

BTW, the official name is The Griswold ~ Capitol Park. Roxbury, the developers, are very adament that they emphasize Capitol Park as they want to brand it and bring attention to this overlooked area of downtown.

[Exodus]

This is a joke, right ? I mean that actually looks freaking good. :tup:

This is in Detroit, right ?;)

[LouisvilleJake]

Nice

[ComandanteCero]

is there a picture of the building that will be replaced?

[Exodus]

is there a picture of the building that will be replaced?Here it is. I hate to say it, but the new one kind of looks better than the old one. Considering 2/3rds of it is parking. Go figure.
If they put retail on the ground level, it will really be a good development. I can't believe what I'm saying, but it's actually turning out to be a good thing considering they are replacing a historic building with a "garage". Maybe Developers in Detroit are getting the right idea on how to redevelop finally.

http://steelflame.zoto.com/img/original/142b9fc63f70384932d77c0cd3901a2a-.jpg

http://steelflame.zoto.com/img/original/693daf074c37889d16e677b5f68c7835-.jpg

http://steelflame.zoto.com/img/original/77c91935b568ea3597c2895669fcca86-.jpg

[Sirus]

Impressive!

Wish they had done a little more with the corner though. ;)

[Hayward]

It's good. I like it. Still mostly parking, but I'll take this one.

Man, that must have all been hell to draw up in sketchup though. I wonder how many nights that intern stayed up.

[LMich]

I really hope on the Michigan Avenue frontage, that they create some kind of entry portal midway along the frontage to center the structure. At the moment, you're eye does not center on anything on the structure. This is just preliminary, though, so I chalk it up to that.

[skyfan]

I like it, compliments the architecture of the BC very well and gives that corner the definition its been lacking.

[Michi]

It's decent. I just don't understand why it can't be at least 1/2 and 1/2. What is so prohibitive of building living space over 5ish floors lately? I'm not dissing the attempt, but I think the proportions make the overall product look rediculous. It's just a silly concept and I'd imagine that such a location with new construction and all would see a demand for more of the same product...so why NOT build higher?

[Trumbull]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/etlchow/thegriswold.jpg

I like it. But the thing I wonder is, if the parking becomes uneeded, can it be converted entirely to condos?

[Jesse276]

I like it. But the thing I wonder is, if the parking becomes uneeded, can it be converted entirely to condos?

Maybe, Maybe not. Surprisingly, the parking deck weighs less than if it were finished office space or living space. On top of that you have to deal with any changes in the floor level.

[The-New-Tony-Detroit]

I'm very impressed.

that is the right type of massing - especially since the corner of Michigan and Griswold is a stone's throw from the more mid-riseish district in and around Campus Martius.

Good efforts.

[LMich]

Yeah, the massing is perfect, and I couldn't even imagine it much taller if any at all. It looks about 160 feet or so.

[cabasse]

looks to be quite nice. i don't mind that they're putting such a small amount of residential space in it.

Man, that must have all been hell to draw up in sketchup though. I wonder how many nights that intern stayed up.

as someone who's drawn various projects to place in google earth, i have to agree. the amount of friggin detail... (that's not really sketchup, is it!?)

[ColDayMan]

^It definately looks like SketchUp to me.

[Cleveland Brown]

Here you have it folks! This is what will replace People's Outfitting/Detroit Commerce Building:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/etlchow/thegriswold.jpg

Whaa, so they're tearing down the Laffayette Building for the new garage's surface parking ;)

Damn, hopefully this will inspire Laffayette and American to finally buy a bottle of windex for their gressy spoons, seeing as both places will be directly across the street.

[LMich]

They are going to need more than some Windex to make themselves look good. :haha:

[Michi]

Whaa, so they're tearing down the Laffayette Building for the new garage's surface parking ;)
Detroit quote of the century! Congratulations! :haha:

[MotorCityDave]

The only thing that could make this more of a positive, is if there were street level retail in it.
Can't tell by the rendering (doesn't look like it).... does anyone know if there is going to be??

[UglymanCometh]

This is a joke, right ? I mean that actually looks freaking good. :tup:

This is in Detroit, right ?;)

Stop stealing my thoughts! :order:

[hudkina]

The only thing that could make this more of a positive, is if there were street level retail in it.
Can't tell by the rendering (doesn't look like it).... does anyone know if there is going to be??

Isn't there an ordinance that says all downtown parking garages (except for the Casinos) need ground-floor retail?

Also, if you count the ground floor retail it's almost 1/2 and 1/2. 9 floors of parking and 7 floors of non-parking. Granted, two more floors of housing would be great.;) And it would be even better if the second floor was office space so that when you're walking down the street the parking levels are less noticeable.

[Segun]

Stop stealing my thoughts! :order:

yeah, that could be the Michigan Avenue of Detroit, wait......

[Exodus]

Stop stealing my thoughts! :order::jester:

[illmatic774]

I commented on this over at urban planet. I also love it, and I never really thought Commerce was that great. Was it history? Hell yes. Was it a nice building? Sure it was, but I won't be lamenting overs its demolition when we have a great project like the Griswold taking its space along with the adjacent lot.

[Hayward]

^ Actually the Commerce building was far better in architectural value in that it was constructed using expensive materials and had ornate carvings around the windows that just cannot be produced today.

I said this building looks good, but only from a rendering. I know I'll be disappointed when the precast concrete goes up with the clear expression of expansion joints.

I think that if we lose a building to progress it should be twice as great as the building that preceded it. But the potential of what could have been done with the existing building should be weighted in as well.

For example, the commerce could have held far more residents than this new building will. An automated parking structure built on the empty corner could have resolved the B-C parking issue as well. Detroit is the leader in new parking structures, but we are lightyears behind in smart parking technology..ones that take up much less space. This should have been taken on as a challenge to use this new technology that would have not cost significantly more than the conventional structure.

Another example is the architectural quality. From the rendering it looks fine. It's okay to use retro facade designs, but if you are going to do it, do it well. Detroit just outright sucks at it. I mean, in the past years of redevelopment across the city, I've seen nothing come close to the quality which can be found in Ann Arbor or Grand Rapids. For even higher quality of examples, go to Columbus, OH (thanks ColDayMan). I don't know if their pseudo classical appearance is because of cheaper materials or the lack of money available for good design. But it's kind of sad when you see a city that was so authentic, so grand in it's architecture get replaced by a cheaper look-alike product.

To understand what this will look like, you must also understand building technology. It has a parking structure, so the facade cladding will likely be ~ 2' x 3' generic panels probably made out of the same stuff that is on the opera house parking garage. Parking structures (even cast in place ones) require to their facades to have a bit of breathing room at the joints. It will be okay, but not of the beauty of the building that once stood there.

It's sad what we must lose to progress. I know this will be good for the city. There's no question about it. But the same thing goes for the 100's of Family Dollar stores that have leveled historic homes and businesses to contribute to the city's ailing commercial tax base. However, what is different with the Commerce building, was that there was actually a better solution to the problem.

[toog05]

January 28, 2007

BY JOHN GALLAGHER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Home buyers shopping for an urban lifestyle in Detroit's central business district soon will have a new upscale option.

The Roxbury Group, a Detroit-based developer, unveiled Friday a rendering for the Griswold, an 80-unit condominium project. In its most unusual feature, the Griswold will be built atop a 10-story parking garage that will rise adjacent to the Book-Cadillac Hotel.

Located at Michigan and Griswold, just steps from Campus Martius Park, the project will offer newly built condos in an area where most units coming on the market are loft renovations of existing buildings.

"One of the things that drove us to this project was the phenomenal location," David Di Rita, a principal of the Roxbury Group, said Friday.

Targeted for a late 2008 opening, the Griswold units will range from 800 to 2,800 square feet with prices from $200,000 to $400,000 for most units, with penthouses up to $750,000.

For information on sales, call 313-580-2200.


http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/BUSINESS04/701280563/1002

[Michi]

If Detroit keeps going in the same direction, there is not going to be any urban environment in which "people shopping for an urban lifestyle" will want to live. That is unless, the urban lifestyle means canyons of cold, disgusting parking garages rising up on either side of the street. I'm sorry, but I'd rather have Philly/Chicago/NY/San Fran/Boston/Cincinnati urban lifestyle than one with blowing tumbleweeds blowing past a boom in an empty car population and massive surplus of parking spaces polluting a once urban lifestyle downtown. I don't think it'll get that bad, but things need to start changin. Take the "obsession" down to at least "toleration".

[DetroitSky]

Looks great!

[LMich]

The project was formally announced, yesterday. I'll have to find the press release, but they say that the top floor will include 2-level units, and that the units will range from $200,000 to $400,000. They will also range in size from 800 to 2,800 square feet, and include a private entrance on Griswold with a doorman.

[cwilson758]

Oooh, I like!

[land234]

Which part is parking deck? is it designed like the Fisher deck...where it looks more like a building, less like a deck...and scary as hell to drive in.

It is a sharp looking project.

[LMich]

You're not serious about which part is the parking garage, are you?

[land234]

Going by the rendering posted...it just looks like two office buildings. Maybe a site section would make it more clear to me.

[LMich]

Perhaps I see where the confusion is coming from, now. The subject of the rendering is directly in the center of the rendering. The Book-Cadillac, of course, is rendered in to the left, and isn't part of this project. Even if it was part of the project, though, don't you agree its obvious where the parking garage is in this rendering?!

[DallasTexan]

no.

[Exodus]

Going by the rendering posted...it just looks like two office buildings. Maybe a site section would make it more clear to me.The garage is within the red outline with the x. I didn't outline the first level because I'm still not sure if there will be street level shops off of Michigan Ave.
http://steelflame.zoto.com/img/45/731c7b72a946c423f30be473757d2fbc-.jpg

[land234]

Perhaps I see where the confusion is coming from, now. The subject of the rendering is directly in the center of the rendering. The Book-Cadillac, of course, is rendered in to the left, and isn't part of this project. Even if it was part of the project, though, don't you agree its obvious where the parking garage is in this rendering?!

That is what I was wondering, I am new to the area and did not realize what was proposed and what was existing. regardless, neither building screams parking deck in my opinion (much like the Fisher deck as I previously stated). The question then is does the deck start at ground floor? three floors up? its not clear, that is why I asked.

It was just a question. geez.

Thanks Exodus, that is what I was wondering...I thought the building to the left was part of the project. I was mistooken.