Greektown housing development locks in final floorplate

Dec 29, 2023

The Exchange, a $64.6 million mixed-use development built from the top down in Greektown, has locked into place its final floorplate.

Assembled at ground level using Barton Malow's LIFTbuild technology, the floorplate was raised into place on Saturday at Gratiot at Brush. The floorplate for the third floor brings the total to 14 floorplate lifts and one roof plate lift. The first and second floors will be built the conventional way.

LIFTbuild is a construction technology that manufactures buildings vertically, the company says, reducing complexity, increasing assembly efficiency, reducing variability and creating a safer workplace. Whole floors are assembled around a central tower used to lift the components into place.

"We’re very pleased with the outcome of our first proof of concept for the LIFTbuild technology," Joe Benvenuto, vice president of LIFTbuild, said in a statement Monday. "The implementation of our proprietary methods have now been proven to produce the advantages we were anticipating, and we are confident that the results achieved at the Exchange Building will set the stage for a broader commercialization of LIFTbuild.

"With this milestone, we will now transition our focus to our next opportunity to deploy the LIFTbuild methodology, as we strive to deliver increased safety, labor efficiencies, and reduced schedules for our project stakeholders."

Construction on the Exchange began in 2021. Work is slated to be completed this year with the first tenants expected to move in this summer. Last June, the penthouse floor was locked into place and assembly continued down to the third floor. Builders say the process saves on time and money.

The Exchange will be the first new residential development in Greektown in about 60 years. The 16-story, 166,000-square-foot development will have 153 apartments on floors two through 14, 12 for-sale condominiums on the 15th and 16th floors and ground-level space for office and retail.

Melanie Markowicz, executive director of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership, touted the project last week during the Detroit Policy Conference: "I know everybody's been kind of talking about this thing being built from the top down. Let me tell you the views from the top of this building are absolutely amazing."

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Twitter: @CWilliams_DN