Biömik® Projects
Coleman Young Building Project
The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, commonly known as the Coleman Young Building, is a prominent government complex located along the Detroit River in downtown Detroit. Completed in 1955 and later renamed in honor of Detroit’s first African American mayor, the building serves as the administrative headquarters for the City of Detroit. Known for its modernist design and riverfront location, it houses key municipal offices and council chambers, playing a central role in the city’s governance while standing as a symbol of Detroit’s civic history and leadership.
Contractor: Hines Property Management
Awarded a Hines Best Practice for this project
Hines Property Management employed all traditional coil-cleaning methods to increase the building's delivered cooling BTUs. The 50-year-old coils were performing far below their designed capacity, resulting in severe comfort issues during the summer months. There were also odor issues that reoccurred at certain times of the year.
Biomik was contracted to use the Biomik Process as a last attempt to restore coil performance and avoid the $1 Million Capital Expenditure Project to replace the coils in all 9 AHUs. Cost and operational downtime were further complicated by the location of the AHU in the mechanical Penthouse of the two towers
Biomik increased the CFM output of all 9 AHUs by an average of 23%, with a couple of units reaching 45%. There was a corresponding 15% increase in Delta T across the coil, and a further 19% improvement in humidity reduction. Hines engineers later confirmed that the coils had been returned to the performance levels specified in the original blueprints 50 years ago.
The net result for the City, County, and Hines was that the building was now easily handling even the hottest summer days without tenant complaints. The biological odor was eliminated, and energy costs were reduced by raising the chilled water setpoint. Most importantly, the $1 million Capex has been avoided to this day, 9 years later.