50 Monroe to get de-skinned?

[TheSutterKing]

Developers dissapointed with renovation. 

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2017/10/developer_disappointed_as_faca.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

Personally I liked the black panels, and definitely am not a fan of how it looks now without the panels, but we'll see how it looks once they finish with this project. 

[joeDowntown]

6 hours ago, TheSutterKing said:

Developers dissapointed with renovation. 

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2017/10/developer_disappointed_as_faca.html#incart_river_mobile_index

 

Personally I liked the black panels, and definitely am not a fan of how it looks now without the panels, but we'll see how it looks once they finish with this project. 

That headline is a bit deceptive in my opinion. Sure, he said he was disappointed that the three arches had been chopped out, but also knew that a good quarter of the south end of each building had been destroyed and patched in the 80’s.  

I’d be shocked if they weren’t ready for a few big surprises. 

I really hope they restore the arches. 

Joe

[GRLaker]

I wonder what they will do with the areas of cement block...I'd love to see a modern twist added to the historic facade in those areas.

Edited October 12, 2017 by GRLaker

[GR_Urbanist]

They should take out the cement blocks and make it transparent glass, like the Apple Cube in NYC.

I honestly dont see what else they could do that wont either be insanely expensive, or look tacky.

[GRLaker]

3 minutes ago, GR_Urbanist said:

They should take out the cement blocks and make it transparent glass, like the Apple Cube in NYC.

I honestly dont see what else they could do that wont either be insanely expensive, or look tacky.

What I was thinking as well. Glass corners would be a nice touch.

[andrew.w]

I haven't seen the pictures yet, but honestly if they can get a good match on the brick, and it's not like they weren't going to have to do facade repairs anyway, there wasn't historically that much detail at the top SE building. Recreating those arched windows should not be that expensive or difficult to do tastefully all things considering, and certainly nowhere near the expense of replicating the top of the NE building.

[Allison Slater]

I haven't seen any plan of theirs suggesting that they're going to be replicating the top of the NE building.  And iirc, the plans have already been revealed for the collapsed corner, and it's not glass.

On 2/8/2017 at 3:10 PM, mielsonwheels said:

 

Take a look in the left of the photo.  It's paneling not unlike other buildings from the past decade.  And the flat top on the NE building with only a very basic horizontal cornice being given to both buildings.

[joeDowntown]

37 minutes ago, tSlater said:

I haven't seen any plan of theirs suggesting that they're going to be replicating the top of the NE building.  And iirc, the plans have already been revealed for the collapsed corner, and it's not glass.

Take a look in the left of the photo.  It's paneling not unlike other buildings from the past decade.  And the flat top on the NE building with only a very basic horizontal cornice being given to both buildings.

I never realized that the damaged portions on the south side were shown in the rendering. I personally don’t mind and think it kind of tells a story (to anyone who notices). 

Joe

[GRDadof3]

14 hours ago, tSlater said:

I haven't seen any plan of theirs suggesting that they're going to be replicating the top of the NE building.  And iirc, the plans have already been revealed for the collapsed corner, and it's not glass.

Take a look in the left of the photo.  It's paneling not unlike other buildings from the past decade.  And the flat top on the NE building with only a very basic horizontal cornice being given to both buildings.

Good call. 

[joeDowntown]

Got a picture of the east side of the building. It’s a little baffling why they ripped the top of that building out and put in cinder blocks. Would love to know the reason behind it. 

 

[GRDadof3]

23 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Got a picture of the east side of the building. It’s a little baffling why they ripped the top of that building out and put in cinder blocks. Would love to know the reason behind it. 

 

I'll bet the cornice at the top stood out too much, and they couldn't seamlessly run the metal panels all the way up so they just chopped off the facade.

[mpchicago]

I get the feeling the budget is pretty tight on this project, but knowing Sam Cummings, he will still manage to smooth out the bumps.

Edited October 19, 2017 by mpchicago

[andrew.w]

My guess is that the arched windows were too short for the rectangular windows they wanted to make on that floor. Thus it was easier to rebuild the entire top of the wall rather than try to re-support the window heads and parapet while they removed the arches. Alternatively, the top of the wall could have been in really poor shape and needed to be rebuilt. Building parapets are especially subject to deterioration from water and wind.

[Allison Slater]

I'm beginning to fear the arched windows on the other building may have gotten the same treatment.

[kevin8gr]

[thebeerqueer]

Story with photos!

 

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2017/10/look_inside_as_developer_resto.html#incart_river_home

[SupercityGR]

I never realized that parking was under the building

[thebeerqueer]

56 minutes ago, SupercityGR said:

I never realized that parking was under the building

Me neither. How interesting. 

[GRDadof3]

30 minutes ago, thebeerqueer said:

Me neither. How interesting. 

Yes, that was what the garage door was for at the Northeast corner. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9639591,-85.6714042,3a,75y,313.83h,85.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYDTyRCS_qb-0E8fzfSFhMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

I know two Huntington Bank people who parked down there. 

[joeDowntown]

18 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

Yes, that was what the garage door was for at the Northeast corner. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9639591,-85.6714042,3a,75y,313.83h,85.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYDTyRCS_qb-0E8fzfSFhMw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

I know two Huntington Bank people who parked down there. 

I was pretty amazed that when they uncovered the the entrance to parking, the old building was perfectly intact. I really thought they would have hacked into that part of the building in the Eighties. 

If anyone listens to Free Beer and Hot Wings, it's funny to hear them occasionally gripe about the building / construction. No hot water for the last six days, and I can't imagine trying to do a radio show with construction going on above and below. They do a pretty good job of canceling out the noise, but you can hear it on the show occasionally.  

Joe

[ironyisadeadscene]

The exposed facade makes the building feel taller.  It really does.

[GRDadof3]

4 hours ago, ironyisadeadscene said:

The exposed facade makes the building feel taller.  It really does.

I love this project more and more every day. 

[andrew.w]

On 11/22/2017 at 10:44 AM, ironyisadeadscene said:

The exposed facade makes the building feel taller.  It really does.

I think that has a lot to do with the strong horizontal emphasis of the contemporary cladding versus the mostly vertical emphasis of the historic facades. Plus combining the three together made for a wide squat building rather than the three individuals, which are each taller than they are wide on their principle facades. As someone who doesn't get to see these everyday, I'm always curious to check in on here and see how they are progressing.

[ironyisadeadscene]

1 hour ago, andrew.w said:

I think that has a lot to do with the strong horizontal emphasis of the contemporary cladding versus the mostly vertical emphasis of the historic facades. Plus combining the three together made for a wide squat building rather than the three individuals, which are each taller than they are wide on their principle facades. As someone who doesn't get to see these everyday, I'm always curious to check in on here and see how they are progressing.

The facade is almost all exposed.  But most of the work is now going on inside that I can see. 

[joeDowntown]

I need to snap a photo, but they finished removing the facade on the Monroe side of the building. Luckily, the arched windows are intact on Monroe.

Joe