Medical Mile/Michigan Street Developments

[cheshireguy]

Can someone refresh my memory a bit and tell me how tall this structure will be upon completion? I remember the "spire" was to be the tallest portion of the building - is this still correct? When we were in the Lacks Cancer Center the other day, the rendering looked as if the spire was on the ground???

[andrew.w]

I thought you were the expert!

Google sez: "[An] Elevator shaft is a typical example of a shear wall. Retaining wall as a whole structure tend to rely a lot on gravity and soil resistance to properly function compared to shear wall. Think of shear wall as multiples of columns placed next to one another continously. They acts as stiffeners apart from carrying load they resist lateral drifts of a building."

I also still kind of confused. I know what a shear wall is and I can see the elevator shaft and it is definitely up to at least floor 7. Usually the concrete elevator and stair wells act as a shear force for a steel building. So is this shear wall that has been mentioned a separate entity from the elevator shaft already under construction or is it one and the same.

[GRDadof3]

Can someone refresh my memory a bit and tell me how tall this structure will be upon completion? I remember the "spire" was to be the tallest portion of the building - is this still correct? When we were in the Lacks Cancer Center the other day, the rendering looked as if the spire was on the ground???

Was the rendering you saw from this angle cheshireguy?

As far as I know, the spire is still part of the design and it will reach the ground:

As far as height goes, the "tower" portion will be about as tall as the Kent County Courthouse. But then add on the 3 "podium" levels, and the spire, and the total height is supposed to be about 315'

[GRDadof3]

A small photo spread of work on Medical Mile.

Glass Alley! (Imagining the Children's Hospital in glass when it's closed in) When did downtown become home to so much glass?

If anyone hasn't made the drive down Michigan St lately, do it. Once you pass under the Spectrum pedestrian bridge, you're just struck by the sheer level of construction going on and how different it feels with Lemmen Holton there. Really no way to show it in pictures. And you get the "impression" that River House is part of the Medical Mile construction, even though it's quite a ways down the street.

You can definitely make out the tower footprint now.

Looks to me like they are pouring the 8th floor (counting two floors in the lowest opening). The view through those openings in the elevator lobbies should be pretty cool (looking out over Lemmen Holton and off to the North).

I don't remember seeing that small buildout section on the East side of MSU in the renderings. Added sf? It's feel pretty massive up close. Too bad it's not taller...

Walking past VAI on Michigan is about the only "soft" pedestrian area, in contrast to all the cold concrete and makeshift sidewalks everywhere else:

Hello!

Eventually...

Children's Hospital from over by the Y:

[trask]

I also still kind of confused. I know what a shear wall is and I can see the elevator shaft and it is definitely up to at least floor 7. Usually the concrete elevator and stair wells act as a shear force for a steel building. So is this shear wall that has been mentioned a separate entity from the elevator shaft already under construction or is it one and the same.

The shear walls are the elevators and they are up to 9. I understand that they will have to wait until the tower crane gets jumped to be able to continue the rest of the way and they have to wait until more steel is set to be able to tie the tower crane into the building so they can jump it.

[GRDadof3]

The shear walls are the elevators and they are up to 9. I understand that they will have to wait until the tower crane gets jumped to be able to continue the rest of the way and they have to wait until more steel is set to be able to tie the tower crane into the building so they can jump it.

Ah, thanks mr. trask! Great info.

[GRDadof3]

The steel on MSU has reached a milestone, where it sets back from the sides and has the "swoop" roofline:

And here's how my wire frame stacked up:

And my comment earlier about the section that branches off of the East side, was shown on earlier renderings (must have missed it earlier):

In related MSU news, some students will go to Traverse City after spending their first few years in Grand Rapids:

http://www.mlive.com/grpress/news/index.ss...medical_sc.html

[tamias6]

Just a question of curiosity. After the new Children's Hospital is built and open for business what's going to happen to the old children's hospital?

Edited August 21, 2008 by tamias6

[MuskeMI]

The current "children's hospital" is more of a concept than a location - units are concentrated in the Center tower but also in the west and north buildings as well. Those units will likely be remodeled and re-purposed but FTMP nothing has been announced (that I know of). Neonatal ICU will remain in the west building with an addition in the new tower. I believe the rest of the peds stuff will be moved out. I know there's a desire to move the Burn unit from BL to BW so (just guessing here) I would imagine that would happen at some point.

[FloridaSpartan]

for Spartan Football fans...check out this new building...

http://msuspartans.cstv.com/view.gal?id=32790

[GRDadof3]

MSU Med School officially opens today

The classes are in the temporary quarters at 234 N. Division, and will move into 15 Michigan St in two years.

And an update from yesterday's webcam. Most of the steel work is almost finished.

[GRDadof3]

New MSU students say finding housing was not a problem

...but finding parking was. Uggh.

[Rizzo]

Some would have us think that parking was only a problem for [insert some derogatory word] suburbanites.

[fotoman311]

New MSU students say finding housing was not a problem

...but finding parking was. Uggh.

I rode by GVSU's $2.7 million parking lot ($26,000+ per parking spot) a couple of times yesterday and that was about all I could think. UGHHH!

[GRDadof3]

The steel on the Children's Hospital is flying! Anyone get any photos of it lately?

[fotoman311]

The steel on the Children's Hospital is flying! Anyone get any photos of it lately?

Here's one! Courtesy of Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkys_joint...l-grandrapidsmi

[GRDadof3]

Here's one! Courtesy of Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkys_joint...l-grandrapidsmi

Nice! I think I saw sparky yesterday in that area.

Here are a few more:

The new hospital entrance looks like it's almost finished. Maybe a month or two?

[MuskeMI]

I took a walk around the medical center yesterday. Walking down that road (Bostwick? Ransom? something) between the new HDVCH and the VAI, the concrete podium/base for the new HDVCH looks absolutely imposing. Hopefully something is done to lighten it up a bit - right now it looks like a very scary way to enter the hospital.

[Eridony]

The steel on the Children's Hospital is flying! Anyone get any photos of it lately?

Yes, but it looks like by the time I get around to uploading them they'll already be out of date. I take way too many pictures

[sparky05]

[Kayak1]

There is also a ton of work going on inside Butterworth. CT Scans, OR Renovations, Med Office renovations, 5 South is completely gutted and being redone. A lot of room opened up inside when Lemmon Holton opened.

[GRDadof3]

A small but monumental development at the HDVCH: the foundation for the spire looks like it's getting ready to be poured (see rebar):

And the fascia is starting to go on the base of MSU, including what look like window frames on the parking level:

[GRDadof3]

Does anyone know when the Towers building is slated to be demolished? I was thinking it was early or mid-September. I'd like to get some pics if possible.

[Yankee Fan]

Does anyone know when the Towers building is slated to be demolished? I was thinking it was early or mid-September. I'd like to get some pics if possible.

My contacts at Spectrum said October or November.

[blueradon]

Any new pics of the children's hospital? Has much changed?