DETROIT - Building an 80-unit apartment complex on ground level is fairly commonplace. Build that apartment complex atop a ten-level parking structure - now that's a tall order.

That's the task currently being undertaken by construction manager Walbridge, its subcontractors and the building trades. Between 90 and 100 Hardhats were on site at The Griswold last month, performing rough-in work on some apartments and doing finish work on others. On floors 11 to 15 above the 545-space parking deck, the developer, the Roxbury Group, will offer apartments ranging in size from 750- 1,600 square feet.

Construction of The Griswold, located on the western side of downtown at Michigan Avenue and Griswold just off Capitol Park, is one of many destinations for construction workers being kept busy by a multitude of nearby projects.

“It is gratifying to be able to revive The Griswold nearly a decade after our initial plans for this location were put on hold,” David Di Rita, principal of the developer Roxbury Group, said in a statement. “We see the renewed project as a natural evolution of our original vision for the site, which also builds on the current momentum in Capitol Park.”

Apartment units will feature nine-foot-high ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, balconies on some units - and some really nice, lofty views of the city.

The 10-story parking structure "foundation" was completed in 2008, and it is located just east of the newly renovated Book Cadillac Hotel, with both connected by an enclosed bridge on the third level.  At the time, the parking deck was Phase I, and the Phase II apartment structure was expected to soon follow. But the economic wallop created by the Great Recession starting in December 2007 delayed the work until iron workers began putting steel up on the project late last year.

Walbridge, which also built the parking structure, left behind pockets on top that accepted the connection of anchor bolts that tie-in the apartment building's structural steel.

Walbridge Project Manager Haithom Sarsam said the design of the apartment complex was "refined" somewhat compared to the plans from eight years ago, but everything was designed to fit into the structure left behind. A pair of shafts that rise through the length of the parking structure are key to the whole operation: one contains plumbing/electrical/mechanical systems, the other will be used for dumping residents' trash.

"There are always challenges that you run into, but we're working around them and solving problems as they come up," Sarsam said. "There are no issues with building on the parking structure itself, the top floor was well-designed as a foundation for what would go on top." He said the parking deck's parapet walls provide the foundational structure for the apartments above.

The steel structure for the apartments was topped out last March, and as we reported at the time, iron workers employed by Midwest Steel had a unique set of challenges on the job. Chin straps were used on workers' hard hats to keep them from falling 125 feet to the streets and sidewalk below. Tradespeople were advised to be super-cautious about not dropping nuts, bolts and whatever else below. The parking structure's individual floors had weight restrictions, so a crane parked on Michigan Avenue alongside the parking structure had to do the heavy lifting of material and machinery. Some 50 semi-trailer trucks had to maneuver and park around city traffic, delivering the structural iron.

Through it all, it's been a good, safe project. "We have good people here, and they're done well for us," Sarsam said. "We're on time and we're on schedule."

A PARKING DECK that has been serving the renovated Book-Cadillac, at left, for the past eight years is now being utilized for its original purpose: as the base for a new five-story apartment structure that’s being built by Walbridge and the building trades. The temporary pink elevator is Walbridge’s way of showing support for breast cancer research.

APPLYING FIREPROOFING to a 10th floor steel column at The Griswold in Detroit is Bryant Bray of Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 514. He’s employed by Saylors, Inc.

GLASS INSTALLERS (l-r) Randy Shattuck and Clay Morehead of Glaziers and Glassworkers Local 357 go about their business in what will be an apartment on the 12th floor of The Griswold in Detroit. They’re employed by Universal Glass.