Things are looking up at Rose & South…and not just because of the tower crane!

DOWNTOWN GOES "UPTOWN" AT ROSE AND SOUTH.

Project Overview

Name: Rose and South
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Project Type: New Construction
Square Footage: 151,000 sf (74,660 sf Office Space)
CSM Project Director: Tim Ankney
Owner’s Representative: Jerry Vander Veen (MW Vander Veen) Pattie Owens, Catalyst Development Co.
Designer: Eckert Wordell
Project Architect: Jason Novotny
Completion Date: January 2008

Downtown Kalamazoo has waited a long time for a new public office building; the last one was built during the Reagan administration. But that long dry spell is being broken with style at the corner of Rose and South, in the form of a beautiful new 6-story office building being constructed by CSM Group.

The structure will be known as the Miller Canfield Building, for the law firm that will be its major tenant. But other space will be available for lease, and it will be among the most prime, desirable office space available in the downtown Kalamazoo area. The building has a prominent view of lovely Bronson Park. And the interior lobbies and common areas will reflect an appealing upscale atmosphere.

The building will provide a prestigious landmark address at the heart of a thriving and resurgent downtown community.

A corner on challenges.

The beauty of the emerging structure might disguise the fact that its construction has presented a number of interesting challenges. (Although the huge tower crane erected in the building’s lobby area might provide a hint!) The corner of Rose and South is a very busy one, with a great deal of automobile and foot traffic passing by. In addition, the property is bounded by buildings on two sides. So the entire building had to be constructed essentially from within its own footprint, requiring a great deal of extra forethought and precise coordination.

In addition, the building includes two levels of below-ground parking. This meant that deep pilings had to be sunk and earth retention walls created before backfilling with concrete against the other buildings. Over 10,000 cubic yards of concrete was poured— on time, through the winter—for this purpose.

In addition, because digging below the water table was necessary, over 3,000 gallons a minute of water were pumped out at critical points to permit work to continue. These unusual challenges made the choice of subcontractors particularly important.

“Building in these close quarters presented some challenges. We identified a select group of contractors that we felt comfortable could handle the demands. It was a prominent client with a definite timetable that we had to meet. No ‘plan B’ was acceptable,” said CSM Group Project Director Tim Ankney.

Concept to concrete in 12 months.

Jerry Vander Veen of MW Vander Veen, the owner’s representative on the project, is impressed with the “Fast Track” schedule that has guided the project so far.

“In March of 2006, I was in Helsinki, Finland, with my daughter Morgan, who was performing in the Synchronized Skating World Championships for Juniors. At that point, I was still trading E-mails and sketches with the architect, Eckert Wordell, 5,000 miles away. But by March of 2007, concrete was already being poured,” Vander Veen said. “That’s pretty amazing, but it was important—the tenant wanted to be in by the end of the year.”

“CSM Group is a good company. If there are any snags, they get them handled right away,” Vander Veen added.

The Rose and South Building represents a big win for downtown Kalamazoo and the whole community, with Miller Canfield’s commitment to keeping its roots right downtown in a signature building that will soon carry its name for all to see.

For now, though, passers-by will have to be content just to wonder “How are they going to get that crane out of there, anyway?”