American Center

American Center
American Center
	American Center
General information
Type	office/retail
Location	Southfield-Detroit, United States
Coordinates	42°29′24″N 83°17′56″W / 42.49000°N 83.29889°W
Completed	1975 (Renovated 2001)
Owner	REDICO
Height
Antenna spire	104.7 m (344 ft)
Roof	100.9 m (331 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	26
Floor area	500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	SmithGroup
References

The American Center is a high-rise tower in the Metro Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan, built in 1975 as the corporate headquarters for the automaker American Motors Corporation (AMC), which was subsequently acquired by Chrysler Corporation in 1987.^[2] The building is located adjacent to Interstate 696, M-10, and US 24 interchange.

Upgraded in 2001, the office tower has 27 floors, including a basement, and has been owned and managed since 2017 by Redico, a Southfield-based real estate developer.^[3]

Architecture

The structural system consists of trussed steel frame.^[4] Designed as a modern architecture tower, the curtain wall facade was originally golden glass. The tower is square in plan, with chamfered corners. The elevator core is unusual in that it is rotated 45 degrees relative to the tower's axis. The building also includes a parking garage and retail spaces. It has a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "Certified Silver" designation.

Development

AMC announced in 1973 that it would move to a new building in Southfield, the American Motors Corporation Office Building.^[5] In 1975 AMC moved its corporate offices to the glass-and-steel skyscraper in Southfield, joining the exodus of companies from Detroit.^[6] The company continued its automotive design and engineering operations at its historic Plymouth Road complex (14250 Plymouth Road) in Detroit, as Chrysler did for a time after acquiring AMC.^[7]

After the acquisition, Chrysler Financial occupied 10 floors of the 25-story building 175,000 square feet (16,300 m²), and the Michigan Court of Appeals occupied approximately 33,500 square feet (3,110 m²).^[8]

The building was owned by Charter One Bank (which as of 2004 was owned by Citizens Financial Group.^[9]

Notes

^ "American Center". SkyscraperPage.
^ Risen, James (10 March 1987). "Chrysler Plans to Buy AMC for $757 Million: Reaches Accord on Purchasing Renault's 46.1% Interest; Wants Jeep, Assembly Plants, Dealers". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
^ "American Center" (PDF). Redico. January 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
^ "American Center, Southfield". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "AMC Headquarters". Detroiturbex. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
^ Lee, Ardelia (9 August 2016). "From Bustling Factory To Abandoned Eyesore: The Story Of The Old AMC Headquarters In Detroit". Daily Detroit. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
^ Smith, David C. (29 October 2015). "American Motors' Former HQ for $500?". Wards Auto. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
^ King, Jenny (1 August 1995). "Detroit: not just another pretty face, the Motor City and southeast Michigan offer stability, opportunity for growth". Nreionline.com. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
^ "The American Motors Building". Michigan Exposures. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2017.

Sources

Fisher, Dale (2005). Southeast Michigan: Horizons of Growth. Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 9781891143250.
Meyer, Katherine Mattingly (1980). McElroy, Martin C.P. (ed.). Detroit Architecture: A.I.A Guide (American Institute of Architects Guide Series) (Revised ed.). Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814316511.