Features include tall wood columns, hand-split wood shakes, copper flashing, in-home theatre, custom carved limestone mantels and columns, a 4,000 SF master suite, a wrap-around swimming pool and ponds.

The most unique feature of the master bedroom can be found in the ceiling. A climate controlled room was built above the bedroom in the attic to house a television which, at the push of a button, drops down through the ceiling for viewing in the bedroom.

The master bath features a computerized shower that regulates 20 shower jets. In addition to this state-of-the-art shower, there are television located behind the mirrored wall which are not visible until powered on!

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Video Tour

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Features include a slate roof with copper trim and weather vane, copper gutters with Japanese downspouts (copper chain), stone exterior, stone interior floors, plaster walls and ceilings, custom leaded glass, and much more.

Both homes were designed by Northville architect Gregory Presley.

We added a master suite, an exercise room, and a family room.

The kitchen was enlarged and remodeled to a Country French style and includes hardwood flooring and granite countertops. A covered walkway was added at the rear of the house connecting a new garage (also constructed by D.J. Maltese) and front porch.

Because its original design was intended for residential occupancy, the restaurant has several unique “nooks.” These nooks have been transformed into secular dining rooms to give not only privacy, but a cozy feeling as well. Every room has its own individual personality and charm. The constant theme throughout the restaurant is detailed craftsmanship.

Features of the restoration include decorative interior mosaic tile, ornamental plaster and painting, beautiful woodwork, 47 fireplaces and Tiffany glass.

The biggest challenge of this project was the installation of new mechanical and electrical systems in the existing structure. D.J. Maltese replaced the “knob and tube” electrical wiring, installed a heating and cooling system with a chiller for increased load, and added a complete fire protection system.

D.J. Maltese was pleased to complete a project which has since become one of Detroit’s finest landmarks.

In the late 1950s, the building was abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. In 1964, it was headed for the wrecking ball, but local citizens rallied to save the great concert hall. These volunteers founded Save Orchestra Hall, Inc., to marshall citizen report for the retention and restoration of the building to its former architectural grandeur.

D.J. Maltese was selected as the construction manager who would restore this landmark to it’s original beauty. In the summer of 1993, phase II was completed, capping a multi-million dollar restoration effort.

Phase I of the project was completed with restoration work valued at more than $5.3 million. The work included restoration of the original box seating, reconfiguration of the box office, completion of the decorative painting of the outer ticket and inner oval lobbies, installation of new stage and aisle lighting and railings, improvements to the backstage and orchestra pit areas, and expansion of the restroom facilities. Phase II was valued at $1.5 million, bringing the total renovation cost to $6.8 million.

“The Gears that Saved Orchestra Hall”
Orchestra Hall was in trouble. It needed a cost-effective solution to a very serious problem. The screw gear stage lift was broken and the next performance season was only a few months away. The Owners had contacted several elevator companies to repair the lift. All of them proposed to replace the current lift with a newer hydraulic lift for several hundreds of thousands of dollars. None of them would fix the older gear lift.

The Owner’s concern for the lift was twofold. First, the cost of the newer lift was astronomical and a real financial burden. Second, the concern of changing to a hydraulic system would require more and costly maintenance – further, it would be too noisy for the Orchestra’s performances.

D.J. Maltese was called in to see if the lift could be repaired. Within one week, we proposed a solution, a cost within their budget, and a schedule to meet with the Owner’s objectives. The project was completed with new parts and re-tooled parts, and at a fraction of the cost of a new system. A very cost-effective, intuitive solution to the Orchestra’s problem. An affordable solution that kept the Orchestra on track for the next season’s performance was offered and executed by D.J. Maltese.

There were many unique imported “niche” pieces which were delivered to the site during construction which posed a challenge for the construction team: none of these pieces arrived with drawings nor assembly instructions and all were assembled, installed, and modified by our project team to fit properly within the temple.

Interior details include marble flooring and steps, a U-shaped worship/prayer corridor (called a Bhumti) that surrounds the main prayer room (called a Gabhara), both of which are imported, hand-carved white marble from India. Additionally, there is a unique 30’ diameter, 15’ tall plaster ceiling dome at the entry of the temple. There are two main levels in the building: the first floor housing the main worship hall, Bhumti and Gabhara; and the lower level including a banquet hall with an acoustically-designed, multi-faceted drywalled and textured ceiling, a stage, a fully-working commercial kitchen, and men’s and women’s changing rooms complete with full showers.

The main focal point of the Temple is the front Shikhar — an imported white marble structure hand carved in India. This detail on the roof is a structure that is 20’ X 40’, weighing over 120 tons. As with other interior marble pieces which were imported, nearly every piece had to be cut or altered to fit, making this a tremendous jigsaw puzzle, with some pieces weighing over 2 tons individually.

Having completed work on many commercial kitchens, the Jain Temple is no exception to a “state-of-the-art” full working kitchen. Details include light-colored quarry tile floors and walls, stainless steel equipment, ovens, wash station, and refrigeration.

The site could accommodate a two story building of about 14,250 SF on two floors (7,125 SF per floor) and a full basement could be included for equipment and storage. The next issue was that the owners only needed about 7,000 SF. D.J. Maltese recommended a partnership be formed between the current building owner and the owners of D.J. Maltese. The owners agreed and further recommend a third partner that would have an interest in ownership and leasing the balance of the building. After only a few meetings in January of 2005 a new LLC was formed by the three entities: the builder and two groups that would also be the tenants for the new proposed building. During the next few weeks concept plans were prepare and the final design concept including a clock tower was submitted to the Township for site plan approval. Over the course of the next few months Township approvals given and the working drawings were completed.

A ground breaking ceremony took place on May 22, 2005 and the project mobilization began with the demolition of an existing building on the site and preparation for the new building. Building permits were issued in late June and excavation and underground utility work began.

Construction continued with completion scheduled for completion targeted for May of 2006.

The building exterior is structural steel with wood frame infill, brick and stone veneer window and door surrounds and accent walls of synthetic plaster. The fascia boards, gutters, downspouts and scupper boxes are copper. The roof in a lifetime asphalt shingle on the pitch roof areas and a rubber membrane roof on the flat roof area in the center of the building area and this is where the a/c units are installed. The exterior entry doors and windows are commercial aluminum sash and insulated glass. The wall insulation is blown-in fiberglass. The building interior includes 2×2 acoustical ceilings with drywall soffits and a drywalled barrel ceiling in the open plan area. All the cabinet and millwork is custom made cherry with granite counters. The interior doors are 3′x 8′ solid core two panel MDF, all the trim is large profile poplar. The elevator is a three stop 3,000 lb capacity. The building is fully sprinkled including a dry system in the roof truss area. The original plan was to use steel trusses to eliminate the cost of a dry system in the roof area. However, the cost of the wood trusses and dry system was about thirty percent less than the cost of the steel trusses. In addition to the fire protection system the building includes a fire alarm system.

Other features include a heated walkway at the entry of the building for snow removal with a metal marquee canopy and a 50′ flag pole. One of the main focal points of the building is the clock tower which has two 6′ diameter clocks with GPS for accurate time keeping. The cost for the GSP was about 5% more than the cost of the clocks.

The building layout includes a main first floor foyer entry and a second floor foyer. Each tenant area has its own restrooms and kitchen allow with conference rooms, private offices and open plan area.

The basement area of about 7,000 SF includes a mechanical room, an elevator equipment room, a lobby area, two rest rooms and a large conference room.

A ground breaking ceremony took place on November 10, 2003 and the project mobilization began with the demolition of an existing building on the site and preparation for the new building. The excavation and underground utility work began.

Construction continued with completion scheduled for completion in September of 2004. Then the Owner changed the scope of work and the partial basement that was in place was redesigned to about double the planned size. This change caused a delay in the project for redesign and additional approvals by the City. After a delay of about four months the project started up again. The project continued to evolve during the construction phase with numerous changes and added scope of work. In May of 2005 the project was substantially completed.

The project was very complex with a lot of custom materials and special electrical requirements. Meetings were held weekly with the trades, Owner and CM to monitor the cost, schedule and changes. Decisions were made on a regular basis as the Owner was available on the site daily. One of the biggest problems completing the project was getting the special “single source” stone for the exterior of the building. The supplier selected had more business then manpower to produce the product for all of his jobs and we incurred numerous delays in getting the material for our project.

The building exterior is structural steel, masonry with stone and brick veneer, copper roof and trim, aluminum clad wood windows, custom made mahogany entry doors, a very custom build canopy at the entry with a valet booth to match the building. The building interior includes custom made ceiling domes and large crown moldings, mahogany wood paneling with tile accents, custom made carpeting and draperies. Low voltage lighting, LED lighting, power operated drapes, state of the audio-video systems, two large plasma screen TV’s, marble and stone counters and flooring, and a camera surveillance security system.

Building features included a partial slab on grade and partial basement. This was done due to the maximum allowable floor area available due to parking restraints. The first floor includes a first class kitchen with an elevator to the basement where the walk-in coolers are located along with the pantry. Other features include a large outdoor heated brick paver patio that can be tented in with the custom tents made for this building. The building is fully sprinkled for fire protection and includes a fire alarm system.

The building layout includes a grand foyer entry, a pre-function area with fireplace and coat room and a folding wall to separate the room from the banquet room, three bathrooms (men’s, women’ and unisex), a large banquet room with a folding wall to split the room into two smaller banquet rooms, two full build-in bars a large kitchen, shipping and receiving area and elevator.