Downtown Birmingham has been an office anomaly of the pandemic, with its vacancy rate falling from 10.4% in the first quarter of 2020 at the start of the pandemic to just 6% as of second-quarter 2023.
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Gallons of water pumped out of the basement. That includes 2.5 million initially, plus another estimated 1 million following flooding in June 2021.
The renovation of Michigan Central Station has been more than six years in the making, requiring some 1.7 million labor hours from 3,100 or so workers.
Here are some other details of the interior restoration, as provided by Michigan Central and from the Crain's Detroit Business archives:
The ticketing window prior to renovation. Photo by Stephen McGee/Michigan Central
By Kirk Pinho
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Brick-and-mortar retailers like those in central business districts continue to grapple with e-commerce spending, which in the third quarter last year represented 15.6% of the $1.82 trillion in retail sales during that time period, up from 14.8% in third-quarter 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
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Downtown Ann Arbor parking meter revenue in April 2020, down from more than $500,000 two months prior.
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Employees will default to staying home if they don't have a clear reason to be in an office. For many, commuting costs them time and money. Employers need to give employees motivation to spend time commuting. Mentorship and collaboration are two big reasons for being in person. Mentorship increases by 25% when people come together face to face, research shows. "Some employees are also simply more extrinsically motivated and thrive working around colleagues, while others are more intrinsically motivated and productive working from home," says hybrid expert Gleb Tsipursky.
Earn the commute
Who prefers a 4-day work week?
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Stephen McGee/Michigan Central
Photo by Bloomberg
Source: Unispace "Returning for Good" report
67%
51%
79%
18-34
35-44
Over 45
Who prefers a 4-day work week?
Michigan Central Station looked too far gone to redevelop. Here’s what it took.
3.5 million
3,100
Workers involved in the renovation
Labor hours in the renovation
1.7 million
Bricks restored
8 million
Years of renovations
6
Amount invested in renovating the entire Michigan Central campus, including the train station and book depository building.
$950 million
Guastavino tiles in the waiting room
29,000
Miles of new grout in the waiting room ceiling
8.6
The Birmingham Farmers Market. Photo by Chris Cook
Nic Antaya/Crain's Detroit Business
Miles of electrical cable and wiring installed
300
Square feet of marble floor restored
23,000
Tons of limestone replaced
600
Nic Antaya/Crain's Detroit Business
Square feet of decorative plaster restored or replaced
90,000
Square feet of terrazzo and marble floor restored
114,200
Miles of plumbing installed
5.6
Stephen McGee/Michigan Central
Miles of welding performed, both inside and outside
3
Acres of masonry restored
8.3
Cubic yards of debris removed
3,900
Nic Antaya/Crain's Detroit Business
Tons of structural steel installed, both inside and outside
700
Square feet of windows replaced or restored
102,000
Light fixtures installed
4,200
Nic Antaya/Crain's Detroit Business
Square feet of flat roofing installed
52,000
Square feet of skylights installed
31,600
Tons of reinforcing steel installed, both inside and outside
300
Jason Keen/Michigan Central
Terra cotta components of the cornice replicated
200
Linear feet of terra cotta cornices restored
1,300
Square feet of copper roofing installed over the waiting room
33,000
See inside the restored Michigan Central Station
Michigan Central reopens with a new purpose after symbolizing Detroit's bleak years
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New park at Michigan Central will connect to greenways, riverfront
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Editorial: Michigan Central Station’s rebirth shows value of business leadership
Bill and Lisa Ford’s $10M plan to bring Detroit youth into Michigan Central
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Timeline: How the Motor City’s rise precipitated Michigan Central Station’s fall
