Yeah this proposal does seem a bit sketchy. The property is under court order to be redeveloped or demolished, now all of a sudden “Mammoth Building Investors” come swooping in to save the day. There’s no details about the group I can find other than they “came in to save the building”.
Grand River between Southfield & Evergreen is catching up to Livernois as one of the most vibrant commercial districts in the city. Certainly in the outer neighborhoods, there are precedence for redevelopment of this kind at 6 & 7.
I’d like to see this happen but almost seems too good to be true, wait and see indeed.
Didn’t notice this project going forward on the border of Grosse Pointe & Jefferson Chalmers. I imagine the city is pissed at GP for the unilateral moves it’s made over the years. Building a shed in middle of Kercheval was a dick move. Though the authorization GP gave its water & sewer development to start discharging raw sewage overflow into Lake St Clair via fox creek & its island communities is another matter altogether.
The city has put a lot of resources into Jefferson Chalmers and it’s starting to pay dividends especially along Jefferson. The city just won its battle with FEMA to get the (River) flood plain designation removed. Initially the suggestion was to block off fox creek at the river, ruining the water quality & recreational access.
There’s nothing special about the building that was being torn down I’m getting the feeling that this situation is being used to set a precedent for border cooperation. Unfortunately it’s coming at the expense of a project that will do good for the area.
Detroit green lights demolition of building at heart of performing arts center controversy
The city sued a nonprofit last month for razing the structure without a permit
Quote:
Detroit filed a lawsuit against the Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation last month after it began razing the former Grosse Pointe Park Department of Public Works building without a demolition permit.
The building, which is partially located in Detroit and Grosse Pointe at the corner of East Jefferson Avenue and Alter Road, is being demolished to make way for the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Center for the Performing Arts.
In the lawsuit, the city alleges the nonprofit is moving forward with plans to construct the center without getting permission from the Detroit Historic District Commission (HDC) to build on the Jefferson-Chalmers Historic Business District.
City officials authorized the demolition last week after the nonprofit “provided an engineering report showing that the structure remaining as it is poses a hazard and needs to come down,” said David Bell, director of the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department.
The authorization, however, does not mean the Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation can begin building the performing arts center. The nonprofit needs approval from the HDC, which has not taken up the issue.
Without permission from the commission, it’s illegal to modify the land because it’s designated as historic
Under the nonprofit’s plan, the group would build the performing arts center and an adjacent art gallery, with a parking lot and loading dock on Detroit’s historic land.
|