Stonecrest Center

15000 Gratiot Avenue is a project address I remember better than most. 

We have worked on several projects at this campus over the last 10 years, even preceding the current owner.  We have work under construction there now.  It is a nice round street number on one of the major arterials into downtown Detroit.  The property is in a Planned District (PD) in Detroit which means a little more interaction at the city each time we make a change on the property.  The property is about a half mile, on the city side, from 8 mile Road (of Eminem fame).  We heard Dr. Jack Kevorkian had a lab in part of the facility decades ago before his renown.  On July 18, 2013, the City of Detroit filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.  At the time we were coordinating a multi phased project with members of the planning department and plan reviewers at the intake office in the Coleman Young City Building.  An emergency manager was assigned by the governor to take over the city.  There are a lot of reasons why the project and its address might be memorable to me.  The most important is that I can’t think of a better city, property, project and mission that collectively show how our owners, the design team and the practitioners can work together against all odds to bring a beacon of light into a place and specifically to people that need it most.  This project replaced a blighted, dangerous, multi-story parking structure with a well planted surface parking area surrounded by the best-looking security fence available.  Gated access controls vehicular and pedestrian entry to adjacent roads and properties quietly protecting the workers, patients and visitors that make the Stonecrest Center the oasis it is at 15000 Gratiot Ave.