mipro Barry Sanders Project

[gshmails 534]

I love seeing those pictures of the studio.  Reminds me of the good old days.  My favorite was model building, I could spend two days straight in the studio. (then sleep through two days of non-arch classes). 

Allan - 3/16?  That is an odd scale.  I am shocked that your teacher allows this.  It really is not a real world scale.  I have been doing real world projects for years, and have never seen anything drawn in 3/16. 

I am now 32 and still pull allnighters.  Once you get the bug, it is hard to stop.

Good luck on the projects!

[baldy 0]

You're 32 and you still pull all nighters? I'm 32 and I'm now in bed by 10:00 (usually on weekends too). I miss the college daze........

[gshmails 534]

Date: 1/27/2005 3:04:38 PM
Author: baldy
You're 32 and you still pull all nighters?  I'm 32 and I'm now in bed by 10:00 (usually on weekends too).  I miss the college daze........

Yeah, the key is to be unwed, unattached, and work for yourself.  I also recommend keeping the kid in you alive.  I usually am in prime work mode at 10 pm.  It's not the age, it's the mileage  - Indiana Jones

[Allan 0]

Date: 1/27/2005 1:42:07 PM
Author: gshmails
Allan - 3/16? That is an odd scale. I am shocked that your teacher allows this. It really is not a real world scale. I have been doing real world projects for years, and have never seen anything drawn in 3/16.

quote>
I know blueprints are NEVER drawn in 3/16. My prof is the one who suggested 3/16 for a scale in the first place though, and I'm not going to complain, because drawing them at 1/4 scale would mean using 24x36 paper. Using 24x36 paper would mean that I have to draw them in the studio instead of in my apartment, which would mean hauling all the studio supplies back and fourth. No thanks! It might be non-conventional, but I'll stick with my goofy scale. Now we're doing rendering, so scale doesn't really matter as long as it looks good.

[SpartanBadger 4]

GO STATE!!

[Farminsim 7]

Hello all, any of you been on the roudabout on 18 1/2 mile and M-53? It's very new, and a very interesting experiance too.

[wolverine 12]

I post my drunken architecture studio pics and this thread takes off. 

[jondecker 0]

Presented for your consideration..... Comerica Tower( and its under 43,000 pollys).  This should be what I will hopefully be presenting for placement on the STEX.  Of course we will need a custom querry and jobs added.  Enjoy!!!https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//comericav3.3.JPG align=baseline>
edit:  maybee this will work better, I have uploaded a new picture

[Cjah 15]

Thats a great building...It reminds me of a building in the game...

[baldy 0]

Hey, Farminsim, any updates on the Kales? ~hint, hint~  Get me  the other walls and get the textures done. 

Jondecker, if you have problems rendering, wolverine has offered to use his U of M resources to help.  He posted an e-mail a page back to send it to.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your model again, but am only getting the red x of death right now

Comerica Tower reminds you of a building in the game?  Which one are you thinking of?

[SpartanBadger 4]

Yea, the picture isn't working JD. Well I know some of you saw my works in progress earlier, and they are just about ready to be put on the STEX, but I'm missing some textures for roof junk, and I can't get the modding to work properly on my billboards. Even with EQ's help, can't figure out the problem. Anyway I really want to start work on a BSP project soon...

[baldy 0]

Xspidey, do you just need some aluminum type texture for your roof junk? Let me know what you want and PM with your e-mail and I'll see what I can come up with and send it off to you. I'll probably have some time tomorrow to work on textures. I have some others to work on too, so it will be a good time to do it. Plus, these should be pretty easy.

[wolverine 12]

Yay!!!  nice work on the tower. If you need help rendering, just send it to me.

Just an added bonus.  Allan, Aaron, and I went up into the Broderick tower (abandoned) and got some great shots. 

WARNING Permission was obtained to enter this structure.  It is illegal to enter an abandoned structure without consent of the owner.  Because it is abandoned, there is a high risk of personal injury.  Abestos, lead paint, and mold particulates (clearly evident) can cause serious breathing problems with prolonged exposure.  There is also no guarantee that the floors, walls, or ceilings are structurally safe, as severe damage was evident throughout the building.  IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT EXPLORE ABANDONED STRUCTURES.


First we found a great place to park... kind of.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/street1.jpg align=baseline border=4>

The 34 story Broderick Tower and its whale mural.  This is the building we explored.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/street3.jpg align=baseline border=4>

The first stairway off the ground floor.  Only 34 more levels to go!!!!
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt01.jpg align=baseline border=4>

Aaron explores the room while I decide to prepare a fine meal of abestos and some old brushes.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt02.jpg align=baseline border=4>

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt03.jpg align=baseline border=4>
Now, this room was a lot of fun.  There was some strange clothing as well as some destroyed boxing equipment in the corner.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt04.jpg align=baseline border=4>
A look at the elevator lobby which could have been on either floors 6-32.  I was rather disappointed when I pushed the button, and the elevator never came.  Apparently one of them worked until recently

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt05.jpg align=baseline border=4>
Since the building is a strange shape, the hallways are at weird angles and create a dizzying perspective.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt06.jpg align=baseline border=4>
Well, it appears some vandals must have found the extra paint for the mural.  And now the mural is in the room.... and the windows.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt07.jpg align=baseline border=4>
Looking out from the penthouse on the 33rd floor.  We discovered that the area outside the door was very icy the hard way.  Fortunately, I'm not scared of heights, so getting a quick view of the drop beneath me wasn't too big of a shock.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt08.jpg align=baseline border=4>
A black ceiling?  Why?

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt09.jpg align=baseline border=4>
Standing in the stairwell at the top floor -- 34.  Keep in mind that these stairways were pitch black.  The camera flash offered a nice, but quick look at what was ahead of us.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt10.jpg align=baseline border=4>
A penthouse room, with some wild graffitti, and a great opportunity to just walk out the
window.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/bt011.jpg align=baseline border=4>
A look up Woodward Ave.  Just look at those empty lots where towering buildings used to be.  And for what?? PARKING.


http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ifmuth/skyline1.jpg align=baseline border=4>
A shot of the Detroit financial district.  The empty lot where the steel coming up out of the ground is where the massive Hudsons Department store used to be.  It set a world record as being the largest building imploded.  An unfortunately small 15 story building is planned for the site.

THE END!

[baldy 0]

Great photos! I really love the view of the skyline from there. It looks full and the Ren Cen doesn't look it's normal isolated self!

[Howling 10]

Even though I lurk Simtrop more than post - I felt I had to drop a comment.

You must really love Detroit, also in an architectural way. I love those old beautiful skyscrapers, any old decent building gives a city history, a life, a soul, it shows that once (if not today) the city flourished and still possesses something beautiful.

I myself live in a Dutch town and studied much of it's history. The things they tore down are... angering. But not nearly as large as what they are tearing down in Detroit. The fools! So I definitely think you should keep on going with this project, more old, brickwork skyscrapers! SC is the perfect outlet for it.

Keep up the great work!

[budweiserdude23 80]

Well to those who might like to know...I have first hand knowledge that there is going to be some moving and shaking form the Illitch end fairly soon. Lets' put it this way, Hockeytown is in for a major overhaul mostly inside and on the mechaniccal end of things, equipment is being moved out of there to Cobo and Joe Louis and elsewhere, and budget's have been tightened a bit in anticipation of other projects. The thought is that some of the delapitated property owned by them will soon be overhauled and you know what that means...

[Allan 0]

Here are a few of my photos from the trip. I hope to go back to the roof on Friday to take some more photos, since some of mine didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked.

The ill-fated Statler


Looking down on the Whitney












Ok, back to work....

[nofunk 1,933]

Those photos are amazing you guys!!! I'm assuming they plan on tearing down Broderick Tower? It actually really depresses me -- Detroit has so much wonderful architecture, and the city just keeps demolishing it. I understand it's unsafe to let an abandoned building stand and deteriorate, but how you can just tear down such magnificent structures is beyond me. Why can't they be re-vamped and restored?? Downtown Detroit doesn't need another parking lot.

In other news, no I haven't gotten any more done on Cadillac Tower. Yes, I plan on working on it soon.

My professor for Urban Politics announced today that he plans on taking us to Detroit a couple times before the semester is over! How rock is that?!

[Allan 0]

Broderick Tower has been closed since 1985. Despite this, it is in better condition than most of the abandoned buildings downtown. Only in recent months has significant vandalism occured inside the building, especially in the penthouse.

As most of you probably know, the building is owned by Mike Higgins. When Mike appeared in Fortune magazine at age 12, he was considered the richest 12 year old in the country. He made his fortune buying vacant properties for dirt cheap, and then selling them to developers for much more money. This is what he had in mind for his three downtown properties (Broderick Tower, Farwell Building, & Ramada Inn). He purchased Broderick Tower in the late 1990s for $54,000 with the intention of converting the building into 200 loft apartments. He hired Hines, Inc. of Houston, TX to manage the building while he got the plans finalized. Unfortunately, he ran into problems as the costs to insure his properties in the city began to skyrocket. It is not uncommon for house insurance in the city to cost $1000 or more per month. I could only guess at the costs of insuring an abandoned 193,000 square foot, 34 story skyscraper. Mike finally got the plans finalized in 2000, and construction on the tower was supposed to start later that year. Unfortunately, he ran into red tape with the city, and had problems getting approval and permits. With insurance costs rising ever higher, Mike's money was running out fast. The city tried repeatedly to take the building, and the press began to group Mike Higgins in the slumlord category of downtown building owners. The city stepped up code enforcement, which set Mike back even further and made prospects for renovation even less likely. Mike has recently paid the city $50,000 in fines, and has also settled for $50,000 with a woman who was injured by glass falling out of a large window that vandals had pushed out onto the sidewalk below. After dealing with years of red tape from the city, the plans for Broderick Tower's renovation were recently approved by city council. From what I've been told, the actual renovation itself should get underway in approximately one year.

Mike has similar plans for the old Leland Hotel (Ramada Inn) and the Farwell Building, but it is unknown when those will be completed. I suspect that he wants to get the Broderick renovated before he starts to renovate the Farwell. The Ramada Inn is partially renovated, but the renovations stopped when Mike ran out of money. For now his major source of income is the City Club inside the Ramada Inn.

In other news, I have heard from a friend that the news yesterday said that the IRS has awarded a tax credit totaling $20 million to the Book Cadillac project, which would complete the financing deal and would allow construction to finally begin.

[SpartanBadger 4]

Well those are some great pictures and great information. My computer decided to stop working for me and now I have to use the Dell. I fear that all my BATs are going to be deleted because I might have to wipe my hard drive.

[Allan 0]

Date: 2/6/2005 2:45:52 PM
Author: XSpiderman
Well those are some great pictures and great information. My computer decided to stop working for me and now I have to use the Dell. I fear that all my BATs are going to be deleted because I might have to wipe my hard drive.

quote>
Thanks! It sucks that all your BATs might be deleted though.

I went back to Broderick Tower on Friday night and went to see the basement, which ended up being flooded. Some of the guys thought about putting waders on and walking down there, but I wasn't about to do that! The bar manager quickly put a stop to that once we discovered that the water was four feet deep, because there is a possibility that the water has sewerage in it. When they built the people mover, they put a support column right over an 80 year old sewer line. The leak in it is very small, but it is still possible that sewerage was in the water, even though the leak is three basements down. They are now thinking that someone stole the sump pumps out of the Broderick.

Saturday evening I went back to the Broderick for a third time with a friend. We pretty much headed straight for the roof. We didn't stop until the 29th floor, which was an architect's office that was last used in 1985. The climb is a lot harder when you go straight up to the top, but the view was well worth the effort.

The building lobby on Friday night


Anyone want to build a hotel? These are the plans to the Highland Park Holiday Inn which was demolished this past summer


Looking out of a 31st floor window


The 31st floor


The roof has an old non-functioning antenna that you can climb to get a better view. I held onto this thing for nearly 10 minutes while my friend took my photo!


You've got to love the views. You guys know where I'll be during the fireworks this summer.












Now, for those of you that are wondering what is the deal with the building....

City council had a six hour meeting this past week specifically to discuss Broderick Tower. The city wants the building torn down because of the whale mural on the side and the religious symbolism of it in the Roman Catholic church. The city wants to put a new city-county building on the site, since the current building is more than 50 years old. The city can only take the building if the Tavern on the Park fails another health inspection, since all of the taxes and everything are paid on the building.

The city is trying to work with Mike Higgins to get it renovated, however. They want to get the ball rolling, since the building is one of the biggest eyesores around. Mike has owned the building for 20 years, and purchased it for $54,000 after David Broderick died. He basically went behind his colleagues' backs to get the building. After Broderick died, all the tenants had to move out, but Mike tried to find new tenants once he got the building. Unfortunately that never really happened. The building emptied out almost entirely in 1983, although Mike did manage to sign a few leases with people, so the building did not become completely empty until 1985. Mike lived in the penthouse of the building until 10 years ago, when the city finally told him that it was uninhabitable.

Mike owns 75 properties around the world, most of which are older buildings that are difficult to get insurance for. He is currently in Paris trying to sell one of his hotels. He is trying to unload all his international properties so that he can concentrate on his U.S. properties.

Wyland paid Mike $3 Million to paint the mural on the side of the building in 1996. He had planned to invest a portion of that money into the Broderick immediately, by replacing all of the windows, so that at least the elements would be kept out. However, right after he got the $3 Million, the city slapped him with a bunch of fines, and all the money ended up going towards paying the fines. More recently, Mike would have been paid $2 Million to put an advertisement over the mural. The advertisement would have been electronic. When it was on, the advertisement would be visible. However, when it was off, the whale mural would have been clearly visible. Wyland did not like this idea, and threatened to sue, since the mural is considered public artwork. Mike's lawyers decided not to take any chances, since they felt that Wyland had a fairly strong case against them. Mike hopes that selling his foreign properties will get him enough money to make some improvements to the building.

Mike has lost a lot of money. He pays out roughly $6 Million per month in lawsuits related to the Ramada hotel alone. Mike has said that the only reason he even has a roof over his head right now is because he has a small house in Indian Village and the taxes have been paid off for the next 15 years. Otherwise he would be living on the street.

The bar manager at Tavern on the Park runs the bar out of the goodness of his heart. He does it simply because he does not want the building torn down. He loves the building, and actually has family connections to the building. At the same time, he says that running the bar was one of the worst decisions he's ever made, simply because of the amount of cash he's put into the place himself. He pays for many of the improvements to the building out of his own pocket. It is almost impossible for him to make money, especially with the thieves stealing the liquor. He said that he will be happy just to break even once all is said and done. He was thinking of moving to Pittsburgh, but has so much time and money invested into the Broderick that he doesn't know if he's going or not.

Basically, it all comes down to this:
If the bar on the first floor stays open, the building will remain in Mike's hands, and Hines will begin a renovation in about one year.

If the bar gets shut down again due to code violations, the city will take the building, and will ultimately demolish it because of the religous symbolism of the mural, and a new city-county building will go up in its place.

[Chris M 406]

Date: 1/28/2005 2:55:05 AM
Author: jondecker
Presented for your consideration..... Comerica Tower( and its under 43,000 pollys).  This should be what I will hopefully be presenting for placement on the STEX.  Of course we will need a custom querry and jobs added.  Enjoy!!!https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/files//comericav3.3.JPG align=baseline>
edit:  maybee this will work better, I have uploaded a new picture

Dude, that looks awesome. I hope to see it on the STEX soon. I havent read through the earlier pages, but had anyone started the Renaissance Cener.

[SpartanBadger 4]

WOW, Allan, how do you know all that stuff? Those night time shots were incredible, that must have been amazing to see.
I don't wanna sound like a jerk, but isn't Comerica supposed to be taller than that?

DragonAnime: Yes, BD started the Renaissance but hasn't worked on it in a while 'cuzza RLS.

[nofunk 1,933]

You know, I think Spidey is right, JD. Comerica Tower looks really awesome! But I'm thinking it should be about 30% taller than it is. I know how hard it is to change things once you've BAT'ed them, but it probably should be done.

I'm just trying to help! I really do think it looks rockin'!!

[Allan 0]

Date: 2/6/2005 10:25:48 PM
Author: XSpiderman
WOW, Allan, how do you know all that stuff? Those night time shots were incredible, that must have been amazing to see.

quote>
It is definately an amazing thing to see. I have been to the Broderick three times now, but have only seen a small fraction of its 193,000 square feet. If you were to start on the first floor and just walk through every room on every floor, you're looking at about two hours to get to the top (this is without stopping to look at anything). If you stop and take photos, and really take the time to look through the place, you can easily spend one hour on each floor. With 34 floors, the roof, and six basments, there is a lot to see. The plans for the tower only show two basements, but there are more than that. The lower basements have been flooded for years, but they contain tunnels that connect the Broderick to other downtown buildings. The lower basements were also to be the location of one of the subway stations for the subway system that was never finished. You've got to bring scuba gear to see the basements though, LOL.

I get most of my info on Broderick Tower from Gabe, the bar manager at Tavern on the Park. He has known Mike Higgins for many years. He also works at channel 4, so he gets to hear about all the stories before they air.

Gabe told me that he found out the names of the two guys that have been vandalizing the penthouse since this summer. One is a 16 year old from Lincoln Park, and the other is from Livonia. He called up the 16 year old's mother on Saturday - she wasn't any too happy! Fortunately, they are moving out of the state in a few weeks, so he won't be causing any more trouble at the tower. The other is older, and Gabe had not been able to get a hold of his parents yet. These are the same guys that have been stealing the liquor from the bar on a weekly basis.

Unfortunately, within the last two weeks, gang writing has shown up in the building. Gabe even spotted some in the lobby on Saturday while we were upstairs. In the very near future the alley behind the building will be monitored by cameras. Mike will also be having cameras installed inside the building within the next few weeks. He is fed up with people breaking in and destroying things. The $50,000 lawsuit was the last straw for him.

In other downtown news....

The new opera house parking garage will have a 24 hour grocery store. Hopefully it will be cleaner and more reasonably priced than the one at Trolley Plaza.

The Book Cadillac will now become a Hilton hotel if the financing is ever secured. They are still $20 million short.

Three new downtown clothing stores will be opening around downtown.

The owners of the Hughes and Hatcher store are suing the city because they demolished the building for the 1001 Woodward parking structure. All of the taxes had been paid on the building, and the city had no right to take it and demolish it. The owners had planned to reopen the Hughes and Hatcher store. It was supposed to reopen on the day after Thanksgiving, but one of the owners died, so that didn't happen. For those who don't know, H & H was a men's department store with locations throughout the Detroit & Flint areas. It was forced to file for bankruptcy more than 20 years ago, and they were only allowed to keep one store, the downtown Detroit location. All the other locations were sold off. Their plan was always to reopen, but now it looks like that will never happen. Since the building closed, they had gone in three times each year to clean the building. It was definately well cared for, and putting up new awnings and moving in shelves and merchandise was all that was necessary to make it a functioning department store again.

[Chris M 406]

Date: 2/6/2005 10:25:48 PM
Author: XSpiderman


DragonAnime: Yes, BD started the Renaissance but hasn't worked on it in a while 'cuzza RLS.

How could he have RLS!! LOL

Anyway, I remember someone else had started the Renaissance but I cant remember who.

[budweiserdude23 80]

It was me. I do have a portion of it completed but I haven't touched it since Christmas time or so. I've been busy with work and just got back from my vacation in Las Vegas. If this weather keeps being as mild (relatively speaking for this region) I'll probably have some time on my hnds to putz with the BAT fairly soon.

[baldy 0]

Vegas, huh?!?  Does that mean that there is now officially a Mrs.  Budweiserdude?

[Quatzu 0]

Whoah. This is awesome. I live in Detroit, and I just finally got SC4 for mac, but I'm a longtime PC SimCity gamer. I just found this thread today, I won't have time to go through all 49 pages just yet, but this looks awesome.

I actually pulled off a pretty successful Detroit in SC3000 once. Anyone involved in the BSP go to CCS?

[budweiserdude23 80]

Date: 2/8/2005 12:19:31 PM
Author: baldy
Vegas, huh?!? Does that mean that there is now officially a Mrs. Budweiserdude?

quote>

No there isn't. It would upset her and my family a great deal if we pulled off something like that. We really just needed to get away for a small vacation. Checked out a fair amount of the sites, did some gambling, a fair amount of boozing, ate a ton (the buffets we went to were fantastic), etc... If anyone were to go I have to recommend the fountains at the Bellagio. They're just phenomenal. I was mesmorized for the beter part of three hours by them on Saturday night. But anywho there isn't a Mrs. Bud yet. We're actually gunning for a fall 2006 wedding.