DETROIT, MI — The Ghafari Associates project team recently celebrated the topping off of the paint shop building on the site of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) first new assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, in nearly three decades. The top-most steel beam of 299 was put in place with a Christmas tree on top to mark the successful and safe completion of the job. This milestone comes exactly four months after the first beam was raised.

The 685,000-square-foot paint shop — which incorporates approximately 6,200 tons of steel — is part of a $1.6-billion transformation of FCA’s Mack Avenue Engine Complex into an assembly plant that will produce new three-row, full-size Jeep and next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs.

Ghafari is the architect and engineer of record for the design-build project, working with general contractor Barton Malow. Ghafari is also providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering support to Giffin, the paint equipment supplier, fabricator and installer.

Construction of the paint shop, a fast-track project that kicked off at the beginning of this year, is on track to be completed in early 2020. Production at the plant is slated to commence by the end of 2020.