A familiar building in the Live6 neighborhoods of Detroit is currently coming down. The Fisher Administration Center will be replaced by green space until a decision is made on what to do with the land on the University of Detroit Mercy's (UDM) campus.
Demolition started a couple weeks ago and a representative for UDM says demo will be completed in November.
The Fisher Administration Center sits along Livernois south of McNichols. The modern building was designed in stark contrast to the mainly Spanish Mission Revival architecture of the rest of the campus. It was designed by Gunnar Birkerts and Co. and opened in 1966. The building and architects have been honored with awards from the Michigan Society of Architects, the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The 52,000-square-foot building was built to house many administrative offices that were scattered throughout the campus. It was funded by the the Fisher Family.
University of Detroit Mercy
Some design and mechanical flaws caught up with the building in recent years, including restrooms located in the stairwells, an untrustworthy elevator, an unreliable HVAC system, and single-pane windows that don't hold up to Michigan weather.
“Fisher is obsolete,” said Tamara Batcheller, associate vice president for Facilities Management. “The costs to fix it are far higher than it would be to tear it down. It makes no sense to try to renovate.”
The demo is part of a larger renovation plan underway on the UDM campus.
