Arguably one of the most unique features of the El Moore is its hand-cut red sandstone facade. It’s a material that was used in other AC Varney-designed buildings of its era; the sandstone is often inserted above a main entrance or around a protruding bay window where it could be carved with intricate details […]
Sandstone Facade (Part One) Read More »
This is the time during any construction process where much is happening and very little of it is photographable. Right now we’re working on the foundational things, such as plumbing and wiring. Not exactly sexy, but very important. We do have a couple of areas to report on this week, both of which are discernible
Construction Update – July 2, 2014 Read More »
This is a time in the construction process that much happens but little is photographable. This is a time for the underpinnings, the work that will be foundational to the building progress is not immediately obvious. Plumbing and wiring are happening now. Insulation is being applied to all surfaces, including the elevator tower. A couple
Construction Update – Week of June 30, 2014 Read More »
The past few weeks have been busy ones on the El Moore site. Monahan Brothers and their selected contractors have been working on every floor of the building, adding foundational elements to the structure. One of the most easily visible signs of progress is the elevator tower, located to the left of the main building
El Moore Construction Update: Week of June 23, 2014 Read More »
The El Moore building project is a great example of sustainable development. However the term, “Sustainable Development”, has a fairly wide definition, and can mean many different things to many different people. The most widely accepted definition comes from the Brundtland Commissions 1987 report and defines sustainable development as, “development which meets the needs of
An introduction to sustainability and the El Moore project Read More »
Right there on the corner where Cass and Amsterdam meet up is an historic building recently purchased by Wayne State University and repurposed/converted into a new biomedical research facility as part of its TechTown District expansion. Not all old buildings in Detroit are quite so lucky. Those who know the building’s history as one of
Historic Reuse – Using Our Past to build Our Future Read More »
Significant changes are happening to the two areas of the building: the roof and the basement. Before we bought the building, we knew that it had stood vacant for many years, in part because the economic model for its future wasn’t clear to prospective buyers. When we looked into the economics of resurrecting the building, one
Construction update – Focus on the roof and the basement Read More »
Not that we do it for the recognition, but when recognition does come our way we must say it feels good. So when we noticed that our very own El Moore was recently reviewed in CURBED Detroit, well, that was pretty cool. Here is some
