Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. today announced the opening of its Global Dow Center. The company also commenced construction on a $100 million Innovation Center that will provide for space more than 200 R&D workers, as well as beginning work on a 20,000-square-foot H.H. Dow Visitors and Heritage Center.
The Global Dow Center, which spans 184,390 square feet, features a 21,000-square-foot vegetative rooftop, and was designed and built by Kirco, a Troy-based commercial real estate and development company. The building includes a steel-frame and curtain wall structure and a nearly one-acre decorative pond wrapping one-third of the building that will help reduce heat islands and storm water runoff.
The six-story structure also includes an enclosed employee walkway connecting occupants to parking and other campus facilities. The interior environment is open and collaborative, with features that include a 4,000-square-foot “town hall” flexible meeting space, a 17,000-square-foot cafeteria, and a coffee kiosk and lounge adjacent to the lobby.
“This is a monumental day for Dow, our employees, and for Michigan as it marks another tremendous milestone in our company’s more than 120-year history,” says Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical. “This world-class facility could have been located anywhere and we chose to invest right here in Michigan because both the U.S. and the state have a growing and vibrant research, development, and manufacturing sector creating new opportunities every day.”
With sustainability at the forefront of the project, Kirco employed green construction and demolition practices throughout the project. “The Global Dow Center has profoundly transformed the Midland campus, and its environmentally conscious design not only reinforces Dow’s commitment to sustainability, but it also keenly reflects Dow’s innovative and inclusive corporate culture,” says Quinn Kiriluk, vice president of development for Kirco.
During the last decade, Dow has made an aggressive effort to achieve growth. The innovation center is part of a $100 million growth synergy target, and is expected to produce more than $500 million in bottom-line growth resulting from adding silicones to the Dow portfolio. Dow officials project that the net income number will continue grow to over $2 billion by 2019.
Additionally, Dow produced many components for the building and construction processes. Kiriluk estimates that, if laid side-by-side, Dow manufactured 300 miles of materials for the Global Dow Center.
