Which building is the commercial heart of every American city?

From department stores and Class B buildings in the downtown core, to mega-malls and sprawling technology parks on the outskirts of town; low-rise commercial buildings are everywhere. And while they don't often the receive the same kind of attention or admiration that downtown skyscrapers do, the vast majority of commercial space in the United States is held within buildings lower than 20 floors. You'll find Gunderlin cabs in hundreds of these buildings, where retail shops, small businesses and Fortune 500 companies conduct business at the commercial heart of the American city.

Compuware World Headquarters

Three-thousand Compuware employees who are currently spread out at nine different offices around Detroit, will soon be joining together at their new world headquarters office in the resurgent downtown core.

Detroit's People Mover transit system will bring many of these employees to the front door, while others will park their cars in a 4000-car garage decorated with art from students of Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Before work, they drop the kids off at daycare facilities, take care of errands in the 60,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and maybe even get in some exercise time at the company's fitness facilities.

When all of this is done, sixteen custom Gunderlin cabs will be waiting to take them to their new offices.

Location : Detroit, MI
Architect : Rossetti Associates
Elevator Contractor : KONE

Naval Sea Command Headquarters

If you've ever been on a US Navy aircraft carrier, you know that when the navy builds things, they build big. This policy carried through to a recent update of one of the navy's most historic dryland facilities as well.

Several old buildings at the Washington Navy Yard received a complete redevelopment and will now serve as the new headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Building #197, the largest of the redeveloped buildings was used as a factory during WWII for the manufacturing of 16-inch guns for the navy's biggest battleships.

Location : Patuxent River, MD
Architect : HNTB Architecture
Elevator Contractor : Thyssenkrupp Elevator

101 Constitution / Carpenters Union

101 Constitution Avenue in Washington DC is an address that rings with distinction. As the address implies, this piece of land is the closest private office to the Capitol Building, making it the ideal location for lobbyists trying to catch the attention of the nation's policy makers.

Until recently though, this property was very much a diamond in the rough. When it's long-time owners - the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America - began considering redevelopment of the land, a group of anxious developers convinced them that the property held great commercial value.

Location : Washinton, D.C.
Architect : Shalom Baranes Associates
Elevator Contractor : Thyssenkrupp Elevator

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