The Dailey Company

Dailey news  With an unemployment rate greater than 15 percent, the Detroit metropolitan area is looking to the Dearborn Town Center development project to act as an economic engine for the region, providing hundreds of much-needed jobs and revitalizing the community, Ric Larson discovers.  A new energy for economic revitalization is being felt in the Detroit metropolitan area, as shovels hit the ground in May 2009 for the new 168,000-square-foot Dearborn Town Center development project. Located in the heart of downtown East Dearborn, Michigan, on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Schaefer, the development includes a 168,000-square-foot medical office building and a six-level parking deck. ItÔÇÖs part of a $70 million project that will eventually include retail space and a senior living facility that will provide the residents of southeastern Michigan and the surrounding area with access to the latest advances in healthcare. A completion date for the project is set for December 2010.  This is a surprising renaissance of sorts, particularly within the economic ghost town that Detroit and its suburbs have become in recent years. With upward of 15 percent unemployment in the Detroit metropolitan area, the Dearborn project will provide hundreds of much-needed jobs in construction, as well as in the healthcare industry, the retail sector, and others that will be generated with the planned phases of the project. The project is expected to create 206 new jobs and retain 300 more. The construction manager is The Dailey Company of Lake Orion, Michigan, a 74-year-old construction company that specializes in building commercial, institutional, industrial, and sports and recreational facilities, primarily in Michigan. The Dailey Company started life as R.E. Dailey and Company, founded on a $4,000 loan by Ralph Dailey in 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression. The companyÔÇÖs first contracts were industrial undertakings for Chrysler and the Ford Motor Company. As large as these automobile companies were, they didnÔÇÖt have their own maintenance divisions, which required R.E. Dailey to stay on site to perform systems upgrades and maintenance, keeping things operational at all times. This new area of revenue, perhaps unforeseen, kept the company alive and helped to pay down loans, while at the same time providing the company with much-needed capital with which to bid new projects. The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the National Industrial Recovery Act, was created on June 16, 1933, by the Roosevelt Administration. The US Congress budgeted several billion dollars for the purpose of building public works to stabilize purchasing power, jump-start American industry and put millions of unemployed people back to work. From 1933 through 1939, the PWA provided funding for more than 70 percent of the new schools and more than one-third of the hospitals that were built during that time period. R. E. DaileyÔÇÖs PWA strategy was to bid for the complicated projects that other contractors left alone. The company searched specifically for projects that were hazardous and undesirable, building an enviable reputation for completing these projects on time, while at the same time providing a level of service for its clientele that was unparalleled at the time. Ralph DaileyÔÇÖs uncompromising principles for quality, attention to detail and on-time performance became the cornerstone on which the companyÔÇÖs reputation was quickly becoming built. In the 1950s the company began to focus its expertise on commercial construction. Its first high-rise office structure was the IBM Building in downtown Detroit, initiating what came to be another example of R.E. DaileyÔÇÖs penchant for excellence. Ralph DaileyÔÇÖs sons, Tom and Larry, took over operating the company in the 1960s and carried on the tradition that their father began by continuing its adherence to client service and attention to detail in every aspect of the business. Dailey began to build a steady stream of buildings that have become impressive landmarks in the Detroit metropolitan area. Many of these projects have received worldwide acclaim, such as Stroh River Place, which has a rich history. Detroit-based Parke-Davis and Company was a leading pharmaceutical firm that occupied over 14 acres of property fronting the Detroit River. It built 26 buildings in the period between 1891 and 1955 that were designed by leading architectural firms, including Donaldson & Meier, Albert Kahn, and Smith, Hinchman, & Grylls. They range in style from brick mill buildings to concrete reinforced structures. The Parke-Davis Research Laboratory built in 1902 along the river was the first industrial research laboratory in the US designated for pharmacological research and was named a National Historical Landmark in 1985. Parke-Davis sold the property to the Stroh family, owners of the Stroh Brewery Company, in 1979. R.E. Dailey turned the property into a magnificent complex that includes offices, retail space, private residences and a hotel. Another project built by Dailey is Harbortown, a luxurious high-rise apartment building on the north shore of DetroitÔÇÖs riverfront. It is a 35-acre parcel consisting of elegant tree-lined streets within a gated community that features a private lagoon, private marina and world-class resort amenities. Each high-rise tower features a grand lobby with impressive marble columns, European-style chandeliers and expensive marble floors. In an otherwise blighted city where vast areas of publicly owned and private property have been bulldozed, burned down and abandoned, these properties stand as the crown jewels of DetroitÔÇÖs waterfront. Dailey has built many other noteworthy structures in metro Detroit, including the 24-story American Center office building in Southfield; the Top of Troy, a 25-story office building in Troy featuring retail space and restaurants; and Southfield Town Center, a series of four high-rise office towers (the tallest being 33 stories) featuring over 2 million square feet of office/hotel/restaurant space. These buildings are located in the suburbs of Detroit in what is known as the Golden Triangle. Perhaps DaileyÔÇÖs best-known building achievement came with the construction of The Palace of Auburn Hills, a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue located in the northern suburb of Auburn Hills. The Palace is home to the Detroit Pistons NBA basketball team, as well as a host of other professional teams, and it has hosted many concerts and special events since it opened in 1988. It has a seating capacity for over 24,000 patrons and has held performances by many of the countryÔÇÖs best-known entertainers and musical acts. In the 1980s R.E. Dailey and Company was sold to a large real estate development and investment company. In 1996, after staying on to serve as vice president of operations for the parent company, Steve Dailey, RalphÔÇÖs grandson, left to found The Dailey Company. Utilizing its experience and time-tested family business philosophies to meet the growing demands of owners and clients in search of quality, integrity and professionalism, The Dailey Company shines as the benchmark to which others in the construction industry aspire.