The Southfield Town Center is a cluster of five interconnected skyscrapers forming a contemporary 2,200,000-square-foot (204,400 m2) office complex in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan. It includes the Westin Southfield Detroit Hotel, restaurants, a fitness center, and a major conference center for up to 1,000 attendees. This office-hotel complex is situated along Town Center Drive off M-10 (Lodge Freeway), across from Lawrence Technological University in Metro Detroit, with many of its tallest buildings named after their addresses along the road. Separately, there is a 33-story luxury residential high-rise at 5000 Town Center. The American Center, another 26-story office tower near the confluence of Interstate 696 (I-696) and M-10, is not part of the complex.
| Southfield Town Center | |
|---|---|
.jpg)   Southfield Town Center | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | office/hotel/retail |
| Architectural style | Modern architecture |
| Location | Southfield, Michigan United States |
| Coordinates | 42°28′35.8″N 83°14′43″W / 42.476611°N 83.24528°W |
| Construction started | 1975 |
| Completed | 1989 |
| Owner | 601 Companies |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 32 story tower 28 story tower 28 story tower 20 story tower 12 story hotel |
| Floor area | 2.2 million ft2 office complex (204,400 m2) (total excludes 33 story residential tower) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Neuhaus & Taylor 3D International (3D/I) Sikes Jennings Kelly & Brewer |
| Website | |
| www | |
| References | |
| [1] | |
The Town Center is across from the Civic Centre, and it is located between West 10 Mile Road and I-696, M-10, and Evergreen Road, as well as being close to the Mixing Bowl.
An enclosed two-story garden atrium connects the hotel with the towers of the Southfield Town Center. The atrium area also contains 94,000 square feet (8,700 m2) of retail space.
History
editPlanners adapted the Town Center location to avoid protected wetland areas. The original route for the I-696 freeway placed it along 101⁄2 Mile Road southeast of 11 Mile and Greenfield Roads. Recognizing the value of a large office complex and its tax revenue, city planners built a new city hall complex near 101⁄2 Mile Road on the east side of Evergreen.
Highway planners re-routed the freeway to run along 11 Mile Road. This delayed construction, but freed up the land to build the first phase, then called the Prudential Town Center (Prudential Life Insurance Company played a major role) with the first skyscraper, 3000 Town Center completed in 1975. A six-lane freeway ramp nearby remained half-completed for about 10 years in order to modify the route to accommodate the massive Town Center project. Additional towers were constructed in 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, and 1989.
Location
editThe Southfield Town Center is located diagonally across Evergreen Road and Civic Center Drive (101⁄2 Mile Road) from the complex that houses the Southfield City Hall, government offices, courthouse, the contemporary Southfield Public Library, a 9-hole public golf course, a city park and dedicated sports areas, a nature trail, an historic farm property, and an indoor ice rink / Olympic-size swimming pool and recreation center. Lawrence Technological University is directly across M-10 (Lodge Freeway) from the center.
A variety of contemporary, high-rise office buildings surround the immediate area. Multiple connecting freeways in the vicinity facilitate its central access to the metro region. The property, which abuts M-10, is 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) from I-696, and it is near M-39 (Southfield Freeway), I-275, I-75 (Chrysler Freeway), M-1 (Woodward Avenue) and US Highway 24 (Telegraph Road). Residential high-rises and varieties of mid-density housing are within walking distance. The surrounding Southfield area contains single-family homes, many with brick ranch style architecture.
Architecture
editThe complex is an interconnected cluster of skyscrapers with an ornamental golden glass exterior, each with a different geometric configuration forming a Modern architectural style with Postmodern influences. The Modern styled buildings contain distinctive elements of High-Tech architecture. The complex contains fine restaurants and gift shops which support its function as a major conference center. Inside, the Westin hotel opens to a large enclosed garden atrium area which connects the Town Center buildings and is available for catering and large events.[citation needed]
Technical details
edit| Name | Images | Height feet / m |
Floors | Year | Area sq feet / m2 |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3000 Town Center | 
|
402 / 122 | 32 | 1975 | 533,982 / 49,609 | The 3000 Town Center is the second tallest building in the state of Michigan outside Detroit. Architects Neuhaus & Taylor, 3D International designed the tower using the Modern architectural style. The design exhibits strong cross braces over its golden glass and steel. It was the first phase of the Town Center.[2] |
| 1000 Town Center | 
|
395 / 120 | 28 | 1989 | 598,232 / 55,578 | The 1000 Town Center was designed with a Modern architectural style using golden glass. Sikes Jennings Kelly & Brewer served as the architects. The tower was the Michigan regional headquarters of Fifth Third Bank, until 2014. The top of the building used to have a decorative Cylinder, which was covered up when Fifth Third Bank bought the building.[2] |
| 2000 Town Center | 
|
370 / 113 | 28 | 1986 | 556,723 / 51,721 | The 2000 Town Center contains the Skyline Club, an upscale business club and restaurant, located on the top floor (28). The golden glass tower is a polygonal with the top third of one corner truncated in a step-back pattern, designed with a Modern architectural style. Sikes Jennings Kelly & Brewer served as the architects.[2] The Consulate of Macedonia in Detroit is in Suite 1130 at 2000 Town Center.[3] Previously Northwest Airlines had an office in Suite 240 of 2000 Town Center.[4] |
| 5000 Town Center | 
|
328 / 100 | 33 | 1983 | NA | The 5000 Town Center is a high rise residential tower and reflects a Modern architectural style. It has an undulating plan, somewhat like a figure-eight. When it was built, this tower was divided into 216 individual units. Due to the merging of a some units, it now has 204 residences. Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates served as the architects.[2] |
| 4000 Town Center | 
|
270 / 82 | 20 | 1979 | 386,293 / 35,888 | The 4000 Town Center is a 20-story tower and is the shortest of the Town Center office buildings. It was built in the Modern architectural style, showing a heavy use of golden glass on its exterior. Neuhaus & Taylor, 3D International served as the architects. Includes a Sundry Shop of Friends on the Go as well as a cafeteria of Friends Café on the first floor.[2] |
| 1500 Town Center | 
|
12 | 1987 | NA | The Westin Southfield Detroit Hotel interconnects with the office complex. The golden glass high-rise has 385 units/rooms and hosts conferences for up to 1,000 attendees. Sikes Jennings Kelly & Brewer designed the hotel in the Modern architectural style.[2] Opened on October 15, 1987, as the Radisson Plaza Hotel.[5] | |
| Atrium garden | 
|
2 | 1979 | 94,000 / 8,733 | The atrium complex connects the complex and contains retail shops with the Westin's Tango restaurant at the other end of the grand hallway.[2] | |
| Southfield Town Center | 
|
402 / 122 | 2,200,000 / 204,400 | The total area excludes residential Tower 5000. The facility serves as a major conference center hosting up to 1,000 attendees. 601w owns the Town Center complex.[2] |
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^ "Southfield Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Southfield". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
- ^ "Macedonia." Consular Corps of Detroit. Retrieved on January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Ticket Offices and Phone Numbers." Northwest Airlines. June 13, 1998. Retrieved on November 20, 2012. "Northwest Airlines 2000 Towne Center Suite 240 Southfield, MI 48075"
- ^ "Radisson Hotel in Southfield opens '87". Detroit Free Press. 16 October 1987. p. 29.
References
edit- Fisher, Dale (1994). Detroit: Visions of the Eagle. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 0-9615623-3-1.
- Fisher, Dale (2005). Southeast Michigan: Horizons of Growth. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1-891143-25-5.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
edit- Southfield Town Center web site
- "1000 Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- "2000 Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- "3000 Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- "4000 Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- "5000 Town Center". SkyscraperPage.
- "Westin Hotel Southfield-Detroit". SkyscraperPage.
- Emporis profile on Southfield Town Center[usurped]
- Emporis profiles on Town Center towers[usurped]
- "Southfield Town Center". Emporis. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)