Chemical Bank says it is preparing to tear down a 10-story 1950s office tower in downtown Detroit to make way for its new headquarters building.

Known as the Michigan Mutual Liability Annex, the tower is in the footprint of the bank's planned 20-story headquarters for 2047 Woodward. The now-empty office tower opened in 1951 and is unremarkable in appearance, aside from a decorative shield near its roof line with the Michigan Mutual Liberty Company logo.

Groundbreaking for the $104-million Chemical Bank headquarters will happen within the next 90 days, Tom Wennerberg, the bank's chief marketing officer, said Thursday.

The precise timing for the old tower's demolition hasn't been determined, he said. The tower's address is 25 W. Elizabeth St. and the Detroit Historic District Commission has already OK'd the tear down.

The method of demolition also hasn't been decided, but likely won't be implosion, Wennerberg said.

"I doubt you’re going to see any TNT," he said.

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The future bank headquarters also will replace a surface parking lot that fronts Woodward. The property is between The Fillmore Detroit theater and the Fyfe apartments.

Ten of the new building's 20 floors (185,000 square feet) will be used for parking. Nine floors (227,000 square feet) will be office space and one floor will be street-level commercial space. There also will be a rooftop terrace.

Chemical Bank says it plans to bring 300 to 350 workers to its new building and occupy six to seven of the office floors; the remaining floors would be leased to tenants or set aside for future bank expansion.

Over time, the number of workers there could rise to 500, Wennerberg said.

The site's developer and owner is an affiliate of the Sterling Group. Land records show the old tower was purchased for $8.85 million in May 2016. The seller, a limited liability company connected to real estate developer and investor Matthew Lester, picked up the tower for $4.25 million in July 2013.

Chemical Bank officially relocated to Detroit from Midland in July 2018. It now has about 100 employees downtown at 330 W. Fort St. with executive offices on Big Beaver Road in Troy.

The bank says it hopes to consummate its previously announced deal to buy Minnesota-based TCF Financial Corp. sometime in the third quarter. Chemical Bank would later officially rename itself TCF Bank in 2020. It already is the largest Michigan-headquartered bank.

Also Thursday, a Detroit City Council subcommittee gave initial approval for a 10-year commercial rehabilitation tax abatement to Chemical Bank that has a $12.7-million estimated value. After the abatement, the city and the county are still projected to realize a $14.5-million net tax benefit from the new headquarters project.

The tax abatement is subject to approval by the full council June 25.

Chemical Bank is the city of Detroit's main operating bank and earlier this year purchased naming rights to Cobo Center for $33 million. The new name for the convention center has yet to be announced.

ContactJC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.