The City Council auditorium of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is getting a makeover thanks to a major decrease in energy spending for the building.
About $335,000 will go toward technology upgrades, mechanical window screens, new carpeting, seat replacement and renovation, wood and marble restoration and ADA improvements.
The auditorium will be closed from Jan. 16 through April for construction; during this period, the art that was displayed in its atrium will be evaluated as to its most appropriate location in the building. Several mayoral busts -- some that have been in storage for years -- will likely join Coleman A. Young's in the main lobby and mayoral portraits will head to the 11th floor where the executive offices are located.
The removal of the art will return the 470-seat auditorium's acoustics to a "very responsive" state, explains Gregg McDuffee, the Detroit-Wayne County Joint Building Authority's general manager. This fact, along with the renovations, will encourage the auditorium's use for events such as the annual State of the City Address that has been most recently held at Orchestra Hall.
McDuffee says that energy costs at the municipal center have decreased from $3.3 million to $1.6 million per year over the last three years. The reserve can then be spent on capital improvements. "We don't consider these optional, and we don't consider them frivolous," he says, referring to the auditorium renovations and the recent restoration of the Spirit of Detroit statue. "It makes a statement about translating operational efficiencies into aesthetic improvements and operational improvements."
Read more about the building's energy conservation measures here and about the Spirit of Detroit restoration here.
Source: Gregg McDuffee, DWCJBA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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