O’Brien Construction earns building award

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O’Brien Construction was recently awarded a Build Michigan Award by the Associated General Contractors of Michigan for the transformation of Detroit’s century-old San Telmo Cigar Factory into 5716 Wellness.

Journal Register Newspapers/KATHY BLAKE Tim O’Brien carries the torch of his father’s business, O’Brien Construction of Pontiac.

O’Brien Construction of Pontiac, which is celebrating 50 years as a privately-owned construction firm, was recently awarded a Build Michigan Award by the Associated General Contractors of Michigan. The firm received the award for the transformation of Detroit’s century-old San Telmo Cigar Factory into 5716 Wellness, a landmark health and wellness outreach center. The project, developed by Southwest Housing Solutions, is a step in reinvigorating the city’s struggling Michigan Avenue Corridor.

Already operating to capacity on a daily basis, 5716 Wellness is one of the first models of integrated primary and behavioral health care in Southeast Michigan.

Tim O’Brien, president of O’Brien, remarked that “This is a very deserving project. It is the 26th building that Southwest and O’Brien have worked on together and, like the others, it is having a huge impact in the city.”

Restoring the dilapidated 50,000-square foot structure, originally designed by famed architect Albert Kahn, required extensive gutting of the building’s interior as well as the complete restoration of its unique exposed timber frame and ceilings. As the general contractor, O’Brien Construction worked with Southwest Housing Solutions, as well as each of the six tenant organizations, to accommodate their specific architectural needs and requests while maintaining the historical constraints of the project as outlined by the Detroit Historical Society.

Early photographs of the building were studied to provide accurate architectural details such as the design and sight lines of original windows which had been removed and replaced with concrete block during the building’s long history. O’Brien ensured that no detail was overlooked, including the careful rehabilitation of exterior ornamental brick and limestone.

O’Brien Construction and subcontractors worked weekends and second shifts throughout the project in order to accomplish this massive renovation in less than a year. They did so despite many challenges along the way.

According to Dan Ross, senior project manager for the renovation, “The biggest challenge was to squeeze in as much as Southwest Solutions needed in that building within the given budget.”

Ross explained further, “Funding for these types of projects has gotten much tighter over the last few years and we wanted to stretch their dollar to the max. By doing so, we were able to accommodate the needs of all eight tenant organizations.”

This award is the second for 5716 Wellness. In July, Gov. Rick Snyder recognized the development with the esteemed “Reinventing Michigan Award.”

Previously, O’Brien Construction received the AGC’s 2009 Build America Award for the construction of Gratiot Woods Co-op Apartments as well as a 2007 Build Michigan Award for the historic renovation of Southwest Detroit’s Lithuanian Hall. Continued...

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O’Brien Construction earns building award