Construction work is restarting on Olympia Development of Michigan’s prominent projects in The District Detroit – bringing jobs and opportunity to the city and continuing progress near Little Caesars Arena.

Construction managers and subcontractors are now implementing additional safety practices to keep the public and construction workers safer from the spread of COVID-19.

Jobsites across the state were allowed to reopen on May 7 under new safety standards. Olympia Development sites include the former Eddystone Hotel at 110 Sproat Street and a multi-use office building at 2715 Woodward Avenue.

Measures put in place on all construction jobsites include, among others:

• Daily health screenings
• Mask-wearing
• Installation of additional handwashing and sanitation stations
• Social distancing
• Dedicated jobsite entry points
• Designation of a supervisor to enforce COVID-19 safety

Renovation of the historic former Eddystone hotel includes new affordable and market-rate housing and 2715 Woodward brings new office and retail space to Detroit’s main street.

Construction is also expected to begin again soon at the Columbia Street shopping and dining destination near the Fox Theatre. A new Union Joints restaurant and Sahara Restaurant and Grill will join recently opened businesses like Frita Batidos, Rush Bowls and The M Den.

For more information of safety practices on construction jobsites across Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/Coronavirus.

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This year, National Nurses Week, established by the American Nurses Association in 1990, holds a special significance as we honor the dedication of health care workers in the global fight against COVID-19. In appreciation of their remarkable strength and commitment, Little Caesars is donating and delivering thousands of pizzas to healthcare workers at Los Angeles area hospitals. The donations kicked off at Keck Hospital of USC and will continue to other area hospitals throughout National Nurses Week.

“Little Caesars wants to recognize the incredible contributions that nurses and other front-line medical heroes make to our communities every day,” said President and CEO of Little Caesars, Dave Scrivano. “They’re working around the clock to keep us safe and healthy, and we want to give them the opportunity to take a break and enjoy a wholesome meal.”

This effort is part of the chain’s commitment to donating and delivering 1 million pizzas to hospital workers and first responders nationwide, which is made possible by Little Caesars, its thousands of independent hard-working franchisees and their locally owned stores, and Ilitch Charities, a non-profit whose goal is to positively impact lives and empower communities.

To help deliver the pizzas throughout the Los Angeles area, the Little Caesars Love Kitchen, a big-rig pizza kitchen on wheels, will travel from the chain’s hometown of Detroit to Los Angeles.

Customers can join the effort and “Pie It Forward” by donating a pizza to their nearby hospitals, police and fire departments when ordering from the Little Caesars app or website. To date, more than 170,000 pizzas have been generously donated by Little Caesars customers.

To learn more about the American Nurses Association and how you can help, visit NationalNursesWeek.org.

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Olympia Development of Michigan will restart construction operations next week at all active sites, consistent with the company’s continued commitment to create jobs, enhance opportunity and build neighborhoods. That work includes the historic former Eddystone hotel, which brings affordable and market-rate housing to the city, and 2715 Woodward, which brings new retail and office space.

“We have been working every day, along with our construction and development partners, to ensure that our job-creating development is moving forward and that we would be ready to resume on-site construction activity as soon as possible,” said Zarah Broglin, Vice President of Construction for Olympia Development. “These historic renovation and new construction projects represent permanent jobs, business opportunities and contribute to dynamic, welcoming neighborhoods in The District Detroit, and all of us at Olympia Development are thrilled to restart construction activities.”

Olympia Development construction managers have been working diligently and each will have a site-specific safety plan that aligns with the new safety guidelines, including:

• Designating a site supervisor to enforce COVID-19 control strategies.
• Conducting daily health screenings for workers.
• Creating dedicated entry points, if possible, or issuing stickers or other indicators to ensure that all workers are screened every day.
• Identifying choke points and high-risk areas (like hallways, hoists and elevators, break areas, water stations, and buses) and controlling them to enable social distancing.
• Ensuring sufficient handwashing or hand-sanitizing stations at the worksite.

Construction activity is also expected to resume at the new Columbia Street dining and retail destination, where future tenants like the new Union Joints restaurant and Sahara Restaurant and Grill will join recently opened businesses like Frita Batidos, Rush Bowls and The M Den.

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Little Caesars customers nationwide have gone above and beyond in giving back to those who keep us safe. Through the Little Caesars app, or by ordering on LittleCaesars.com, generous customers have donated nearly 140,000 additional pizzas — and counting — toward Little Caesars #PieItForward campaign.

Little Caesars recently announced a 1 million pizza donation to healthcare workers and first responders made possible by the brand, its thousands of independent franchisees and Ilitch Charities. Since then, customers have donated pizza to their local healthcare workers and first responders through the Little Caesars app or website.

“As a family company, we wanted to thank our healthcare heroes in the best way we know how – by delivering millions of wholesome meals to them around the country,” says President and CEO of Little Caesars, Dave Scrivano. “The fact that so many of our customers have jumped on board to contribute even more shows that the spirit of kindness and generosity is alive and well, even during times of crisis.”

Customer contributions will go toward pizza servings at hospitals, police departments and fire departments around the nation over the coming weeks.

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Major League Baseball announced this week that clubs can decide their own ticket refund policies for games not played due to the pandemic. The Detroit Tigers are offering a progressively fan-friendly policy, plus a unique way to honor first responders, front-line health care employees and other Detroit community organizations.

Those who held tickets for Tigers home games in April and May will have two options:

• Fans can receive a full refund for cancelled April and May games, or

• Fans can choose to leave funds on account that can be applied toward future games, upgrades, additional tickets, suite products, or unique behind-the-scenes experiences including: throwing out the first pitch, delivering the pregame lineup card, experiencing the batting cage, viewing fireworks from the dugout, becoming an honorary grounds crew member, watching the game from the press box and meeting our broadcasters, and much more.

Fans who choose to leave funds on their account will also be rewarded a 30 percent bonus credit, generally believed to be among the highest offered by any MLB club. Every ticket purchaser will be receiving an email from the Tigers with these options.

“We all miss baseball, and we recognize that these are challenging times,” said Chris Granger, Group President, Sports and Entertainment, Ilitch Holdings. “We truly appreciate our fans’ loyalty and wanted to raise the bar in providing them with the flexibility and peace of mind they deserve.”

In addition, season ticket holders who opt to leave money on their account will be eligible to participate in a new community goodwill program, Gift the Game. As part of this program, the Detroit Tigers will donate 25 tickets in the season ticket holder’s name to celebrate local heroes and non-profits.

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While the MLB season remains on hold, the game is still very much on the minds of fans. Detroit Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire is a true and lifelong baseball man — both at home and on the field. For those wondering what a full day in the life of the Tigers skipper looks like, a video crew went behind the scenes to provide an inside and exclusive glimpse with this cathartic baseball escape:

The son of a U.S. soldier, Gardenhire was born in Germany and raised in Oklahoma. He took to baseball at a young age, playing in the informal summer youth games.

After attending University of Texas at Austin, he was drafted by the New York Mets, where he played for five seasons. Gardenhire finished his playing career for the Minnesota Twins, and after retirement, began his storied managerial career in the Twins’ farm system. He would go on to manage the Minnesota Twins for 12 years, winning the American League Manager of the Year Award in 2010.

Hired by the Detroit Tigers ahead of the 2018 season, Gardenhire brings both enthusiasm and experience to the position and works closely with Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Al Avila.

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Health care workers around the world are on the front lines in response to the ongoing crisis. In recognition of their heroic staff, Grand Blanc, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care has partnered with the Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars to have Little Caesars pizza delivered to their 14 Michigan hospital locations as a way to say “thank you.”

All told, the Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars donated more than 1,500 pizzas to feed all McLaren Hospital employees lunch and dinner across Michigan. Little Caesars used its Love Kitchen semi-trucks to help deliver the pizzas to McLaren’s largest locations in Detroit, Mount Clemens, Flint and Bay City.

Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire personally thanked the McLaren Health Care employees in a video shared by the Tigers Twitter account.

“On behalf of all of us with the Tigers, I want to send a thank-you to all the heroic healthcare providers at all McLaren and Karmanos Cancer Institute,” said Gardenhire. “You have continued to answer the call during this unprecedented time, and we are grateful for your dedication and sacrifice to keep the communities we live, and work in, healthy. We truly appreciate your dedication through these challenging times.”

This initiative is part of Little Caesars commitment to donating a million pizzas to healthcare workers nationwide. Customers can join the effort by using the Little Caesars app to #PieItForward and send a pizza to medical personnel, police and firefighters in their local areas.  

“We are very appreciative that two such outstanding Michigan icons as the Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars recognize the commitment and courage of our healthcare workers in rising up to this challenge,” said Phil Incarnati, President and CEO of McLaren Health Care. “We thank both organizations for their support of our valued employees who have been at the forefront everyday caring for patients throughout this COVID-19 crisis.”

The McLaren system includes 12 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 450-member employed primary care physician network, and Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers, anchored by the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute. Learn more at www.mclaren.org.

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Customers Can Also “Pie It Forward” to Local Hospitals, Police Stations,
and Fire Departments Using the Little Caesars App

• The 1 million pizza donation will be delivered by the company over the coming weeks, providing about 4 million meals to hospital workers and first responders across the country
• Chain kicks off national initiative tomorrow in hometown of Detroit
• Donation made possible by Little Caesars, its thousands of independent franchisees, and Ilitch Charities, a non-profit created by Little Caesars founders
• Customers can join the effort by using the Little Caesars app to send a pizza to medical personnel, police, and firefighters in their local areas
• Little Caesars recently announced contactless delivery and pickup through the Little Caesars app

Little Caesars, the global family-owned pizza chain that recently announced contactless delivery and carry-out, will donate and deliver a million pizzas to healthcare workers and first responders across the country over the coming weeks. The pizzas will be donated to hospitals, police departments, and fire departments around the nation starting Tuesday and will continue to be delivered throughout the following weeks. Prior to the nationwide outreach, servings will kick off tomorrow at the Detroit Medical Center in the company’s hometown of Detroit, an area that has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 virus in recent weeks.

The 1 million pizzas could serve up to 4 million meals to front-line medical and first responder professionals at hospitals throughout the country. This unprecedented donation is made possible by Little Caesars, its thousands of independent hard-working franchisees and their locally owned stores, and Ilitch Charities, a non-profit whose goal is to positively impact lives and empower communities.

“Hospital staff and first responders are working around the clock to help keep us safe and healthy, and they are true heroes,” says President and CEO of Little Caesars, Dave Scrivano. “As a family company, we want to thank all of them in the best way we know how – by delivering a wholesome meal.”

Starting next Monday, when customers use the Little Caesars app or order on LittleCaesars.com, they will also have the opportunity to “Pie it Forward” by donating a pizza to their nearby hospitals, police, and fire departments at checkout. The customer-donated pizzas will be served locally by Little Caesars franchisees during the weeks that follow.

Little Caesars recently announced contactless options for both delivery and carry-out through the Little Caesars app. Pizzas are baked in 475-degree ovens to ensure food safety and never touched after baking. The chain has also reinforced cleanliness and sanitization procedures, increasing the frequency of cleaning commonly touched surfaces including door handles, glass, countertops, Pizza Portal surfaces, phones, and cash registers.

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Among the countless affected by the ongoing crisis are the kids who rely on regular meals from their schools. In an effort to fight against childhood hunger and food insecurity in the community, Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire and pitcher Matthew Boyd have each pledged $5,000 to Big League Impact as part of Home Plate, a partnership between Major League Baseball, the Garth Brooks Foundation and Big League Impact.

The Tigers’ donation was tripled by Home Plate, combining for $30,000 to the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The sum will help feed 1,400 students and their siblings through meal deliveries. “We are grateful for the support of the Detroit Tigers, especially during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Dr. Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District. “This generous donation will help feed many of the most medically fragile students in our district and is a powerful demonstration of the Tigers’ organization standing together with DPSCD in support of children and families who are in need.”

Many children lost daily meals they received while in class due to school closures as a result of the pandemic. Detroit Public Schools has been operating grab-and-go sites for food distribution, as well as food delivery for those need.

“No child should ever have to worry about where their meals are coming from,” Boyd said. “The real heroes are those people making the meals every single day, the people running these organizations year-round to feed these children. We’re just trying to do our little part.”

This is Boyd’s second donation to Home Plate. Both he and then-teammate Tyson Ross both contributed to DPSCD through the program last year, helping provide meals for 600 needy families over holiday break.

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