National City Bank
- Project: National City Bank Headquarters
- Location: Troy, MI
- Client: National City Bank
- Build Type: Renovation
- Architect: Yamasaki Architects
- Area: 87,000 Square Feet
One of Oakland County’s largest office deals has literally altered the skyline of Troy. National City Bank has relocated into 87,000 square-feet, encompassing four floors in the former Top of Troy Building. The Kojaian Company owned building has been renamed the National City Center with the bank’s name and signage blazing the Troy skyline. Troy Mayor Louise Schilling in her State of the City Address in late February praised the project as “proof that Troy is becoming the regional banking center in the Midwest.”
“Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson identified financial services as one of the ‘emerging sectors’ that will hopefully revitalize Michigan. So we are very pleased to be home for the National City Bank Building and we welcome that warm green glow that emanates from its top floor,” said Mayor Schilling to a crowd of some 150 people who attended the State of the City address.
Getting the “green glow” in the form of 10-foot tall letters on three sides of the building was no simple task. Synergy Group was chosen to perform the complex project to provide National City Bank high visibility along I-75 and the Big Beaver Corridor. At night, the lighted signage can be seen for miles.
Synergy assigned Project Manager Steve Mora to lead the construction of both the high-end executive banking center and office space as well as the exterior sign project.
“We essentially built a 20-foot capstone or a 26th floor on the existing 25-story building in order to hold the sign,” said Mora. “This signage is now a structural element of the building. Its construction required using a specially equipped construction helicopter to haul structural steel to the rooftop on nearly 90 lifts.”
Mora praised National City Bank and Troy officials for their close cooperation and assistance in building the project safely. All construction utilizing the helicopter was done while the building was vacant to further minimize any potential risk to building occupants. The entire project was completed without any safety issues.
“Synergy Group is well known as a leading construction company for interior buildouts for corporate clients,” said Chief Operating Officer Pete Petrella. “National City Bank is an outstanding organization and it was a pleasure to work with them to make this headquarters project a complete success.”
National City Bank also chose Synergy to build a free-standing branch bank in front of the tower offering access right on Big Beaver Road.
The multimillion-dollar interiors project was designed by Yamasaki architects of Troy and SignArt of Kalamazoo assisted Synergy with the sign installation.
