Wayne State’s Mike llitch School of Business is at the halfway point of construction, and the progress is impressive.
Come next year, more than 3,500 students will be served by the 120,000 square foot building that’s across the street from the new Little Caesars Arena on Woodward Avenue.
On Thursday we went on a construction tour of the $59 million project that we’ve been following since steel started going in back in April.
$40 million of the funding came through a gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. The gift was made in 2014, before the death of magnate Mike Ilitch.
All the floors have been poured, and you can start to see the general shape of things to come as the interior framing and drywall has begun.
They’re working from the top down, so up on the fourth floor there’s more complete than downstairs.
We took a peek into the future Dean’s office, as well as the view he’s going to have out on what promises to be a great terrace.
The terrace will have louvered skylights that can be opened or closed depending on the weather.
Exterior stone and glass has arrived and is being installed, and you can start to see the modern look of the structure.
The view down Woodward from the fourth floor is pretty solid.
Heat was starting to be pumped into the top floors when we were on site, and within the next week, the building will be fully enclosed.
There’s also a “vegetated terrace” going in.
Downstairs, there will be an LED stock ticker visible from Woodward and Temple to go along with their Bloomberg terminals.
Check out the common area on the ground floor.
Outside of that glass wall (will be able to open up into the courtyard) we’re told they’ll be able to tent the space outside for special events.
And then, there’s the Lear Auditorium that will hold more than 250 people. Lear sponsored the auditorium that, of course, has a car lift.
Christman-Brinker is the Construction Manager. Ideal Steel and the Ironworkers Local 25 is working on the steel structure. Smith Group JJR did the design, all Detroit-based companies.
Classes will begin in the new facility in the spring 2018 semester.
