new 10-story office tower "One Kennedy Square" joins the nearby Compuware building as the most recent additions to Detroit's skyline.

Under construction in Detroit's central business district, the 10-story, green-glassed building owned by Southfield developer Redico will offer a dramatic change in appearance compared to other masonry-encased, 1920s office towers near Campus Martius.

Iron workers from Local 25 and American Erectors completed major structural work during a topping out ceremony on Aug. 25. Work continues on the rest of the building, which is expected to be complete late next year.

"There are nine different colors of glass in this building, and overall, it's going to have a lot more glass than other buildings in the area," said Project Manager John Fekaris of construction manager Spencer Dailey. "I think Neumann-Smith (the architect) made an effort not to fit the building in with the nearby buildings. It will have its own identity."

Under construction on a tight site north of Fort Street between Woodward and Griswold, One Kennedy Square is being constructed on the location of the demolished Kennedy Square, a little used concrete park named for the late president. Directly below ground is a three-level parking deck, which was rebuilt a few years ago with foundations able to support up to a 15-story building above.

Fekaris said those foundations will support the building, but great care has to be taken to watch other heavy equipment loads on the parking deck's support system. For example, the tower crane serving the construction process was anchored outside the footprint of the parking deck.

With construction of the structural iron complete and the concrete floors poured, the building trades are currently working on installing the exterior glass and rough interior work. Mark Bevans, the iron worker general foreman, said getting the iron to the site on time, and in order, was crucial.

"We're in the middle of everything down here, and it's a tough, tight site, without much of a lay-down area," he said. "Any time the sequencing of the iron was messed, up, it would shut us right down." About 30 iron workers put up 1,900 tons of Ross Steel iron over a 12-week period.

The building will feature Class A office space and include some upscale design elements like interior and exterior marble. The first floor lobby is designed to include some retail shops. The building's "signature" element will be a 240-foot-tall spire on the Woodward side.

Ernst and Young accountants and Visteon are expected to be among the prime tenants in the 250,000-square-foot building, which can house up to 1,500 workers and will cost about $54 million. There are an average of 100 construction workers on the project. Completion is expected in May of 2006.

"The construction schedule is fast-paced, but we're all working together well as a team," said Fekaris. "The job has gone really well."

THE NEW 10-STORY "One Kennedy Square" is the latest addition to Detroit's skyline. The Iron Workers and American Erectors topped off the buildng last month. Looming over the new glass-enclosed building is the Penobscot Building, built in 1928.

UNTYING A CORE drill rig after it was lowered from an upper level is Brian Whitmore of Plumbers Local 98 and Limbach.