There are many things about a renovation project that canmake a Design/Build team proud. Some projects stand outfor beauty, others for detail, complexity, delivery, or anynumber of characteristics. In the case of the $12-million-plus renovation of the approximately 50,000-square-foot

(not including an 8,500-square-foot rooftop terrace) MadisonTheater in downtown Detroit, it’s all of the above, and more. Bought and renovated specifically to be a hub and business

incubator for technology start-up businesses, the newly wroughtbuilding dazzles with its youthful, energetic and tech-centric urbandesign that was accomplished under a startlingly rapid constructiontimetable and on a maximally tight construction site. But representatives of the project’s owner, architect and contractor allsay they are most proud of the impact the project has had on theCity of Detroit. “It’s becoming a ‘go-to’ place,” said Joel Smith AIA, principal,

Neumann/Smith Architecture, Southfield, the architect of record onthe project. “People are asking, ‘Have you been to the M@dison?’ I

didn’t realize what an impact this has had on the city. It has been agame-changer, with everybody wanting to experience it.”Neumann/Smith’s project manager for the M@dison renovation wasJ. Michael Kirk, AIA, LEED® AP BD+C, principal; the project architectwas David Masco AIA (retired); and Jaimelyn Neher LEED® AP®BD+C,handled design.“There is a new energy in and around the M@dison Building that

has transformed the area into a hub for high-tech professionals tolive, work and play,” said Jim Ketai, managing partner with BedrockReal Estate Services. “The building is 100 percent occupied, and theneighborhood is buzzing with activity. Being part of the M@disonBuilding’s reinvention has been among the most rewardingexperiences of my real estate career.” Bedrock is a propertymanagement firm based in downtown Detroit that specializes inpurchasing, leasing, financing, developing and managingcommercial space. It is part of Rock Ventures LLC, the umbrella entityformed to provide operational coordination, guidance andintegration of Rock Ventures’ and Quicken Loans’ Founder and

62 CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

By Clare Desmond, Contributing Editor

Now called The M@dison, the newly renovated office buildingis a hub for technology entrepreneurs in downtown Detroit.Above, concrete plinths at the base of stairs serve as benchseating, while modern furniture, fixtures and graphics contrastwith exposed vintage steel, concrete and reclaimed wood.

PHOTO BY JUSTIN MACONOCHIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Chairman Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies, investments and realestate.“Anchor tenants focused on entrepreneurship and creativity, like

Detroit Venture Partners, Bizdom and Skidmore Studio, perfectlydemonstrate our long-term vision for downtown Detroit,” Ketaiadded. “The amazing work of the architects, designers andcontractors involved helped create a distinct space and successfulredevelopment of a historic building that is a remarkable feat in ourcity’s ongoing revitalization. And we’re justgetting started.”It’s a “destination,’ noted John Olszewski,

vice president for construction with Bedrock,which oversaw the purchase and subsequentrenovation that transformed the 95-year-oldbuilding into a modern, edgy and open space.It was re-named the M@dison, with the “@”used purposefully to demonstrate thebuilding’s emphasis on young technologyentrepreneurs. In January 2011, more than adecade after the last attempts by others toresuscitate the property, Gilbert acquired it,with the idea of creating a hub for high-techentrepreneurial activity and special events. Therefurbished M@dison, at 1555 Broadway, iscurrently home to more than 20 technology orcreativity-based companies, many of themstart-ups. Besides the youthful, hip, tech-centric design, it has also attracted tenantswith the camaraderie and collaboration thatthe design fosters. Featuring several largeopen spaces, the building invites communication among its tenant companies. “It all started with a vision,” Olszewski said of

theM@dison. “Each of Rock Ventures’ buildingsis different. This one was set up to lure venture companies that arenot necessarily part of the Rock Ventures family,”although its DetroitVenture Partners, Bizdom and Doodle Home are anchor tenants.Gilbert also created Bizdom, a non-profit that provides the support,resources and mentoring to help aspiring entrepreneurs get theirbusinesses off the ground. Gilbert is also one of four partners ofDetroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. The other partners are JoshLinknerCEO, Brian Hermelin and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Linkner is atech entrepreneur and the founder of ePrize; Hermelin is thefounder of the private equity investment firm Rockbridge GrowthEquity; and Johnson is, well, Johnson, the hall of fame basketball star,entrepreneur and philanthropist.After the Madison Theater shuttered for the final time in 1984, its

marquee advertising the last film to be played there, “The DeadZone,” ironically remained for more than 20 years. The City of Detroit,once called the “Paris of the Midwest” in part due to its architecture,was on a downward slope. The theater portion of the structure wastorn down in 2000 to make way for a surface parking lot, and theremaining five-story attached office building remained unoccupiedand deteriorating.

A REALLY FAST RENOVATIONFollowing a six-month renovation started in May 2011 and

completed in November of the same year, the building is “dead” nomore. The hope was that the success of the building in attracting itstarget tenants would spur similar development elsewheredowntown. Gilbert’s dream was to provide a space where

technology entrepreneurs could collaborate and benefit from theirproximity to one another. That some of their team members mightchoose to live and play, as well as work, in downtown Detroit wasalso part of the goal. The M@dison has put that goal well on its way. Once the center of

the burgeoning entertainment industry in 1920s Detroit, theM@dison is now becoming one of the pioneering centers fortechnology company development in the Detroit of 2012.

According to his Quicken Loans website, Gilbert made acommitment in 2009 “ … to play a role in developing a creative,tech-focused urban core where people want to live, work and play,”imagining a tech hub he labeled “WEBward Avenue.” The vision wasthat the work environment should reflect the lifestyles of theworkers who use the space, explained Todd Sachse, president ofSachse Construction, Birmingham, the construction manager on theproject. And it was to lure young workers especially back into thecity, Neumann/Smith’s Neher added. “The genius of this project wasthe vision articulated by the owner,” Sachse said. The Madison Theater was built in 1917 by owner John Kusky and

renowned theater architect C. Howard Crane, who specialized indesigning elaborate early 20th Century “movie palaces.” Accordingto historicdetroit.org, the 1,806-seat theater opened on March 7,1917, and was the first of the grand theaters that Crane woulddesign. As were many theaters of that era, the Madison was builtwith an office building attached to provide additional commercialspace for the growing office clientele. The office building’s classicaldesign was removed by a modern facelift in 1961 and the theatersuccumbed in 1984 to the declining movie trade downtown. Iteventually was purchased by the Michigan Opera Theater, whichhad plans to restore it for live, small stage productions. That projectwas abandoned and the building was sold in early 2000. The newowner’s plan to develop the office portion of the building into loftcondominiums also faltered, and some initial repair work ended. The new M@dison’s design, executed by Neumann/Smith and

Rock Ventures’ Doodle Home, features open interiors and generousmeeting and seating areas that foster communication among the

CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 63Available online at www.cammagazineonline.com

Newly crafted artistic signs recall the M@dison’s former life as a 1920s-era movie palace. The signs feature key words in Dan Gilbert’s vision for Detroit as a place to Live, Work, Play.

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building’s various tenants. Edgy andsometimes humorous graphics, partial wallscovered with IdeaPaint so they can bescribbled on and dry-erased, and seatingareas circling a core of workspacesencourage tenants to congregate orcollaborate informally.The building features spaces on the 2nd

through 4th floors for anchor businessesand a “desk-for-a-day” environment forenterprising “techies” who might come intothe building. A combination of conventionaland unusual seating in the spaces that rimthe open work stations includes a hangingswing. A variety of wall art is youthful andinnovative, but it remains in keeping withthe Design/Build team’s desire toincorporate as much of the old building withthe new while maintaining a spirit offreedom. Existing graffiti, for instance, wasleft in place on several of the old masonrywalls, and fabricator markings on new steelwere left exposed. “It was artwork,” Smithsaid. The design also tips its hat to the oldtheater, with decorative signage createdfrom steel beams and Hollywood lightsreminiscent of the theater’s marquee,featuring single words that are key elements

64 CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

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of Rock Ventures’ philosophy about the“new” Detroit: Live, Work and Play.

A JEWEL WITH GREAT VIEWSOne of the jewels of the renovation is the

stunning, approximately 8,500-square-footrooftop terrace that provides unobstructedviews of Grand Circus Park, Comerica Parkand northward up Woodward Avenue to theFox Theater. The space contains two bars, acommercial kitchen with three barbecues,and multiple flat screen televisions. In theraised center portion of the terrace, modernfurniture tops flooring constructed ofrecycled concrete pavers set on one-foothigh pedestals over a membrane to providedrainage. A wood slat floor around theperimeter is also set on a series of woodsleeper pedestals. “All of the water perksthrough the pavers and into the roof drains,”Smith said. Three elevators, one of them a freight

elevator, service the building. Mechanicalsfor the structure are placed out of view ontop of the service elevator. A 42-inch-highrailing constructed with capped masonryposts and stainless steel cables rims theterrace to enhance the mostly unobstructedcity views. The look is modern, with lightingand touches of wood and foliage to softenthe space. At nearly 10,000 square feet, the building’s

5th floor offers open gathering spaces, atwo-story auditorium, two privateconference rooms, lounge seating andtables, plus a full catering kitchen and barfacilities. A skylight brings in enough naturallight during the day that the space is usablewithout having to turn on the lights.Multiple tall windows provide views on theeast and north sides. Italian tile and lightfixtures in the modern bathroomcompliment polished concrete floors andcountertops. The wall tile is a taupe-greycolor around the countertop, while whitetiles, some with a three dimensional designon the face to add artistic detail, are used atthe other end of the space. The 135-seat auditorium on the 5th floor

is “all new,” Neher said. “It didn’t exist beforethe renovation.” Colorful acoustical tiles linethe walls, and each seat in the auditorium isfitted with a collapsible laptop platform withpower available for re-charging equipment.The auditorium is equipped with full lightrigging, and the room is acoustically suitableas a small performance venue. The south end of the first floor features

independent coffee shop Chez Zara, areception area for upper floor tenants, andan Italian restaurant anchors the northeastcorner. The remaining floors of the building

each feature a core of work stationssurrounded by a rim of open meetingspaces. Skidmore Studio, a creativecompany, moved to Detroit from Royal Oaklast year and occupies the entire 4th floor.Each floor is distinguished from the otherswith graphics, furniture and modern LEDlighting that contrast with the existingvintage structure. Exposed original clay tileswere left in place on the ceilings and re-

patched where structural bracing wasneeded, or covered where required. Floorsteel decks were sprayed with K-13 acousticspray for noise reduction and insulation.Steel was left exposed on the existing stairsbetween the second and third floors and isincorporated into the stairwell design. Stairtreads were constructed of reclaimed barnwood to add to the vintage look, whileadding warmth to the space. Reclaimed barn

CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 65Available online at www.cammagazineonline.com

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with the inadequacies of the building withinthe timeframe allowed was another bigchallenge, he said, and designing andrealizing the rooftop terrace rounds out histop three challenges.Team collaboration from start to finish

was required, Sachse said, to “get it done onthe fly … to take the owner’s vision anddeliver it in an unconscionable amount oftime.” Details, such as the urban-inspiredwallpaper and graffiti left in place, “started tohone in during construction,” Neher noted.She said visits by the client duringconstruction usually “brought with themanother ‘Aha’ moment,” among them, usingsome of Gilbert’s favorite “isms” (words ofwisdom) to decorate the frosted glass stairrailings.For Sachse, it was the very fine installation

and craftsmanship required on newmaterials brought into a very old andneglected building, and accomplishing theirinstallation very, very quickly. “The scheduleand the construction techniques andmaterials were challenging,” Sachse said,explaining that they were bringing newmaterials into a “very raw” building andthose materials were going to be exposedand become part of the design, upping theante for their installation. He noted, forexample, that the joints and finishing on thereclaimed barn wood were “like casework”and done with “tremendous precision” andwith very high quality. Also challenging the project was the tight,

urban site at the corner of Witherell andBroadway Streets, across from Grand CircusPark on the north, with the Detroit PeopleMover track running on Broadway St. alongthe building’s east façade. The building itselfoccupies the entire site, with the exceptionof the small surface parking lot, which wasused for a construction office and smallstaging area. All deliveries, Sachse said, werescheduled in a “just-in-time” manner and,because there was no elevator, they all hadto be lifted to their appropriate floor usingboom trucks of various sizes, or carried byhand to their destination inside thestructure.“Not a single piece of equipmentcould be fed into the building from that sidebecause of the People Mover track,” Sachseexplained.No lost-time incidents marred the

renovation of the M@dison. Sachse’s safetydirector, Doug Henderson, conducted safetytraining and orientation classes for allworkers before they were allowed on site.Regular safety inspections were performedthroughout construction to ensure that alltrades and vendors adhered to Sachse’spolicies.

66 CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

The stunning 8,500-square-foot rooftop terrace features a commercial kitchen, two bars, threebarbeques, multiple flat screens, and gorgeous views of the city and its sports venues.

wood was also used in private offices and inreception areas.Two types of large colorful graphics are

used throughout the space. Some aremanufactured papers with bold abstractdesigns and others are large murals, withsome custom designed and created orexecuted either by Neumann/Smith’s Neheror by Doodle Home, a Rock Ventures’ Web-based interior design firm that worked withthe architect on interior design for theproject. One of the purchased wallpapersgraphically depicts aspects of city living,including fire hydrants, streetlights andfoliage. The first floor lobby graphic is a largeaerial map of early-1920s Detroit that hasbeen enhanced with neon lightshighlighting major streets and noting thelocation of the M@dison with a “You AreHere!” sign. Fathead, best known for its life-sized wall graphics of sports andentertainment personalities, and another ofRock Ventures 50 companies, created manyof the stunning graphics that cover entirewall expanses. Crisp black and white early20th century photos of downtown Detroitand the M@dison are especially dramatic.

LOTS OF CHALLENGESThe M@dison renovation presented

various challenges and obstacles, notablythe owner’s need to be able to have thebuilding occupied only six months after itspurchase in January 2011. To meet that

demanding schedule, the owner, architectand contractor agreed to a Design/Buildstrategy. Some construction actually beganbefore the design was completed, Bedrock’sOleszewski said, praising both the contractorand design team for their “flexibility” indealing with “lots of changes, lots ofunforeseen issues.” For example, stairassemblies weren’t supported, and theydiscovered that one exterior wall was notreinforced. In addition, construction on theproject was actually started before therewas a design, he said, further complicatingthe project execution. “I commend bothgroups, architects and contractors, for tryingto implement the design and constructionsimultaneously,” Olszewski said. Smithagreed, noting “the joke was that this was aBuild/Design project,” he said, attributingthe quip to Todd Sachse. “We builtsomething, and then figured out how todesign it.”When the design team first entered the

building, not much remained of the interior.“It showed a lot of water damage,” architectSmith recounted, “and not a whole lot else.There were stairs and elevator shafts but noelevators, and that’s about it.” There werefew interior walls.Perhaps the biggest challenge from a

design perspective, Smith said, wasorganizing the mechanical and electricalsystems. “You want it to look good,” he said,“but you also want it to work well.” Dealing

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MODERN ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS &ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESSThe M@dison was fitted with a two-pipe

water loop heat pump system, usingindividually zoned water-to-air heat pumps.The system has three high-efficiencycondensing boilers to add supplemental heatto the loop piping, and a cooling tower toreject excess heat. This type of water loopheat pump system efficiently transfers andrecycles the building load. Heat that isremoved from the first floor restaurant, forinstance, can be conditioned and added tothe loop to heat offices on the fourth floor.Outside air is directed through a HeatRecovery Ventilator (HRV) that removes theenergy from exhausted air either heated orcooled, and transfers it to the incomingoutside air. The HRV recovers about 80% ofthe energy from the exhaust air, whichotherwise would simply be lost. Individualheat pumps were hidden above the enclosedoffices, which lowered the ceilings in thoseoffice spaces, but which allowed one heatpump per run to feed between the structures.

Access to the plenum for these runs, whichalso contain the sprinkler mains, is super-insulated and isolated to control noise in theoffices below. As might be expected, the entire building,

including the rooftop terrace, is wireless andhas a direct point-to-point wireless bridgefrom the mainframe three blocks to thesouth. Three-bulb direct/indirect florescentlights were suspended parallel to theductwork and sprinklers. The M@dison wasfoam air-sealed throughout, and super-insulated underneath the rooftop terrace’sfloor. SMART Building energy credits havebeen approved for the new mechanicalsystem upgrades and lighting systems. Renovation of the M@dison shows a

commitment to conserving land andresources by its rehabilitation of a historicgem that had been abandoned for more than20 years in the heart of downtown Detroit. “Itdemonstrates what you can accomplish withan old building when you re-purpose it,”Sachse enthused. The rooftop already hasbeen used for many private events.

CAM MAGAZINE OCTOBER SPECIAL ISSUE 2012 67Available online at www.cammagazineonline.com

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