By the end of January, the 350-space outpatient parking ramp on the southeast corner of Bostwick and Michigan Streets will be just another huge hole in the ground.
The ramp closed on December 1. A few days later, crews dismantled the pedestrian bridge leading to it. Soon, the wrecking ball will swing. All of this to make way for the construction of the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (HDVCH).
The wall of the ramp that runs along Michigan Street will be used as a retaining wall to prevent the street from collapsing. Soil nails drilled into the area will hold the wall up during demolition of the rest of the ramp.
Prepping the ramp for demolition involves removing electrical lines and other utilities, and salvaging metals, lamp fixtures, signage, and other materials that can be recycled or reused. Two picker cranes will occupy the site when demolition begins.
“We intend the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital to be a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building,” said Bill Rietscha, vice president of facilities at Spectrum Health. “We basically decided all new construction will be sustainable buildings and LEED certified.”
Patients, physicians, and hospital volunteers used the ramp until it closed. Reassigning those occupants to other designated parking areas meant that the hospital had to redesign its wayfinding system.
The proposed HDVCH is 14-story, 440,000-square-foot facility. Projected cost is $190 million. A groundbreaking ceremony was held last fall. The facility is scheduled to open in 2010.
Wolverine Construction Management and the Turner Construction Company will oversee the project. Pitsch Companies will handle the demolition.
Source: Bill Rietscha, Spectrum Health
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