  Masterblaster Member Username: Masterblaster Post Number: 162 Registered: 03-2005 |
Kwame Kilpatrick has delivered!! One of the 50 "commercial" buildings that he targeted for demolition (and addressed in his "state of the city" speech) has been DEMOLISHED!  Pictures of the pre-demolished building are in the following link (which I can't get to display correctly). http://flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/469390729/ The demolition of the Lisbon Manor Apartment building is almost complete... ..and while it gets rid of a long abandoned eyesore, it is still a loss to the long-term potential of the Dexter-Davison neighborhood. Which apartment building will be next to fall in the Dexter-Davison neighborhood??       | ||
Masterblaster Member Username: Masterblaster Post Number: 163 Registered: 03-2005 |
A terrifying example of the steep decline of this neighborhood can be seen in the pictures that I posted in the following thread about Sturtevant Street https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messages/125438/126869.html Those pictures of the part of Sturtevant closest to Dexter. Block of Sturtevant closest to Linwood has also become very abandoned and the houses stripped. The following pics are of 5 straight two-family flats that all next to each other, all abandoned, and all stripped.  STRIPPED OF: antique doorknobs and their back plates  STRIPPED OF: antique doorknobs and their backplates, leaded glass windows, boiler, radiators (This tudor-style two-flat was recently for sale, what happened?)  STRIPPED OF: intricate leaded glass windows, radiators, BATHTUBS, wall sconces, BRICKS! (on the sides and back)  STRIPPED OF: antique doorknobs and their backplates (This 1941-built two-family flat was available for $7,500 just a couple of months ago. It's upstairs consists of a one-bedroom flat with a kitchen that opens up to a large balcony in the back)  STRIPPED OF: nothing (this late 1930's two-family flat was burnt to a crisp on the first floor, but the second floor is unscathed and unstripped) I boarded up all of these two-families. | ||
Dannyv Member Username: Dannyv Post Number: 184 Registered: 08-2007 |
Those are some beautiful homes that have been lost. My cheaply built suburban home doesn't compare to the materials and craftsmanship that can be found in these houses. | ||
English Member Username: English Post Number: 729 Registered: 10-2003 |
Sad! | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 453 Registered: 04-2004 |
This thread is depressing. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 437 Registered: 06-2007 |
I second Wolverines Sentiments. That is some amazing architecture. No newer buildings have that kind of brickwork and detail. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 7328 Registered: 02-2004 |
Look at the bright side. At least those dangerous building will not be turned to Crack "R" Us drug store chains. | ||
Leoqueen Member Username: Leoqueen Post Number: 2049 Registered: 07-2004 |
Pretty soon Detroit will be a city of blocks with 2 or 3 houses, the rest urban prairie. And the tax base just keeps on eroding. But Downtown is nice and shiny and bright! My studio is in a gap between the Motor City and MGM casinos....every day I see the huge fake flowers decorating MGM and the neon show on the facade of MC and consider them now to be very mocking, when seen in comparison to the complete rest of the city. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1619 Registered: 04-2006 |
I am not surprised by those photos, those of us who live in the neighborhoods have been dealing with that sort of stuff for a while now. Areas that were stable and even growing a few years back have hit a steep decline. | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 4794 Registered: 10-2003 |
Well you beat me to that punch masterblaster. I am working up a webisode called the "The 50" profiling the buildings slated for demolition by the mayor's economic incentive plan. I discovered the Lisbon Manor in rubble when following the trail two weeks ago. That last picture in your first post, the Rich-Dex is also on the list. More on the Fabulous Apartment Ruins of Detroit webisode: https://www.detroityes.com/webisodes/2006/02-FabulousApartmentRuins/index.html New webisode taking shape at: https://www.detroityes.com/webisode s/2008/080410-the50/101.htm Direct link to Lisbon Manor: https://www.detroityes.com/webisode s/2008/080410-the50/113.htm | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 153 Registered: 12-2007 |
That is depressing to see. I particularly liked the building in the first photo. Abandoned and unsecured buildings like that are bad for the safety of the neighborhood, but it is still a tremendous shame to see such buildings torn down. But then, who is around to live in them? Nobody. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 2051 Registered: 09-2007 |
Well IMO, Dexter-Davison already hit the bottom of the hill during the 80s.  | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4734 Registered: 02-2005 |
Leoqueen, too much of the city already is like that. This is absurd, short-sighted, and I'm pretty sure it would only happen in Detroit in 2008. Most other cities would hang onto buildings like those because they're so rare (and because they have a better chance of redevelopment in those places). It's scary to think that many of Detroit's neighborhoods will probably look even worse in five or ten years. And we've seen that the threats against downtown buildings also continue (with the Oddfellows near-demo, and the Madison-Lenox still fresh in our minds). One of my complaints with the economic development policies of the mayor is his belief that tearing stuff down encourages redevelopment. Nobody's learned from Hudson's yet. | ||
Cub Member Username: Cub Post Number: 387 Registered: 02-2007 |
I still don't understand how they are being demolished if the City Council has yet to prove his plan. If the money has been there all along , why is he just now doing something? | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 968 Registered: 05-2004 |
Good question. Nothing gets done around here unless there is a crisis. | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 4244 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Especially in a City that always claims to be broke. This demolition isn't cheap, especially with a ZERO ROI. | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 2015 Registered: 04-2005 |
He's probably paying $24,999.99 per floor for demolition and removal, or whatever that limit is. No CC approval needed. | ||
English Member Username: English Post Number: 730 Registered: 10-2003 |
I think we're too late to save many of the abandoned buildings. Barring a social revolution or $100 per gallon gas, Detroit will never be as dense as it was during the first 5 decades of the 20th century (when even then it was less dense than many comparable cities). My vision for the city is that brownfields should revert back to urban prairie/parks, while cleaner areas should be turned into gardens temporarily while waiting the years or decades for demand. If the city could get a visionary mayor who's on board, it'd be great. The nascent urban greening movement got a beautiful spread in last month's Oprah... if we had a city policy encouraging it, it'd be even better. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1620 Registered: 04-2006 |
Hundreds if not thousands of buildings are demoed every year. The City already sets aside funds for that. The issue is that by making these buildings a priority, there are others that might be falling off the list. I'd hope they would consider things such as children's walk to school, and economic impact to neighboring land uses when selecting buildings for demo. For example, go to SEMCOG's website and query Detroit permits, and select the year range you are interested in seeing. http://www.semcog.org/Data/Apps/permits.cfm (Message edited by Detroitplanner on May 05, 2008) | ||
Saintme Member Username: Saintme Post Number: 120 Registered: 08-2006 |
Those apartment buildings look like the ones in Palmer Park. God I would give anything to go back in time for 10 minutes to see what this place used to look like. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1816 Registered: 02-2006 |
They paved paradise and put up a vacant lot. | ||
Dianeinaustin Member Username: Dianeinaustin Post Number: 18 Registered: 02-2008 |
Those buildings are so pretty, it is a shame they are falling apart. Of course with no employment and unsafe conditions one can see why they aren't occupied. I would love to have any on of them. | ||
Sknutson Member Username: Sknutson Post Number: 1131 Registered: 03-2004 |
It looks to me like one of the apartment buildings in the pics is being renovated - it has new windows..... | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 4249 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Well, here's the problem: those buildings aren't necessarily falling apart. Most of them are likely structurally sound. Yet the City chooses to recklessly spend money to waste physical assets rather than mothball them until a way can be found to rehabilitate and inhabit them. Especially in the current push to "go green", there are millions upon millions of BTUs being wasted by the ghetto-ass Mayor's grand bastard plan. And for what? Some sexy-ass fields of weeds? | ||
Retroit Member Username: Retroit Post Number: 51 Registered: 04-2008 |
If I lived on a street with an abandoned home or building, I would be overjoyed that my tax dollars were being used to tear it down. I never thought I'd say it, but Kwame, for once, I applaud you. Now, I like architectural treasures like the rest of you, but we need to practice some triage. We're not talking a few historical landmarks here; we're talking vast swaths of the city that have been largely abandoned and that need major rebuilding, a la Victoria Park, for example. Of course, now is not the greatest time to be building homes, but that time will come and Detroit needs to prepare for it NOW. Don't cry for bricks coming down, cry for all the people that are leaving this city because they can't stand living among such eyesores. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 2097 Registered: 11-2003 |
The mayor (or future mayor) needs to realize that the real problem is not figuring out what to do with the abandoned homes & buildings, but to figure out what it takes to stop people from abandoning the buildings in the first place. Not an easy task, but that is the real problem. There are obviously many reasons behind the problem (crime, etc), but I'll throw out a couple that people don't usually think of: Too many homes, not enough people. The number of vacant homes nationwide has shot way up in the last few years, compared to the last fifty years. See this chart: http://interestrateroundup.blo gspot.com/2008/04/us-housing-v acancy-rate-sets-record.html We have an overcapacity problem from the over-subsidizing of home building, buying and mortgage lending. Those days are now over, but it's going to be a while before things get back to normal. Another is the Detroit still does some dumb things to make moving out as easy as possible. For example, the DWSD (Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept) last I heard was still planning on building a brand-new water main extension along I-75 to Flint to help build new exurbs, subsidized by higher water bills for residents of the city and existing suburbs. We need to fix and maintain our already overextended existing water & sewer infrastructure, not build an insane new extension. It's like paying people to move out of the city through higher water bills. | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 4251 Registered: 10-2003 |
Amen, Dougw. | ||
Runningman Member Username: Runningman Post Number: 18 Registered: 03-2008 |
You know what really struck me about the photos and great insight (thank you Dougw) from members of this forum on this topic? These places were of such marvelous architectural significance (for whatever reason - location, masonry work, windows, builder - whatever) that many actually had NAMES! How many suburban dwellings (single or multifamly homes - NOT urban/suburban crappy tinder-box apartments) have been given a name? I can count them on one hand, and I'm in the business of supplying materials to people who are proud of the structures they build, and those people usually have enough ego to give them names if thought it would grant them exclusivity - but few do. This is deflating... | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 11613 Registered: 10-2003 |
A whole lot of whining about the destruction of this beautiful architecture. Know what makes these more viable to stay standing? People moving to the city, people occupying these neighborhoods and these buidlings. Looks like a lot of crocodile tears if you ask me. (If only SOMEONE, not me, would live there these fine buildings would last forever) | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 11614 Registered: 10-2003 |
Re - Great post! | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 11615 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Where is here? You certainly don't live here so I can only assume you are talking about a 'here' that is not Detroit. I do love the fact that this forum has more compassion for old buildings of the city than the people of the city. | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 983 Registered: 05-2004 |
That's why people are moving out in record numbers. Enjoy your resale value. | ||
Masterblaster Member Username: Masterblaster Post Number: 164 Registered: 03-2005 |
The continued decline of the American Auto Industry, along with lousy elected officials and high crime will prevent this neighborhood from seeing investment. JT1, I don't think that people on this forum care more for the old buildings than they do the people, its just that these old buildings give Detroit a lot of uniqueness and character. Demolish all the old vacant buildings - the apartments, storefronts, and houses from the 1910's to the 1940's - and what you'll have left is a predominately black, crime-ridden city, with a 32% poverty rate (and America doesn't really care about about poor black folk), and a bunch of vacant land. How alluring is that? There is plenty of vacant land without all of the crime and poverty in the exurbs! The Dexter-Davison may be the most "urban" and best-built neighborhood outside of the Grand Boulevard Loop. It has the grand single-family houses of Russell Woods-Sullivan and Oakman Boulevard. It has some spectacular 1920's and 1930's 2-,3-, and 4-family flats, exquisite apartment buildings and a few shining examples of "apartment rows". An all-brick neighborhood These buildings themselves aren't hurting anybody in these neighborhoods, JT1. It is the neglect in keeping these buildings secure and locked up so that they won't be stripped and squatted in that is hurting the people in these neighborhoods. | ||
Rax Member Username: Rax Post Number: 256 Registered: 11-2007 |
Speaking of demolished, what happened to the old Hot Sams on Brush? It's a pretty big hole in the ground now. Parking for the Detroit Pub? | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 7332 Registered: 02-2004 |
jjaba, Your old Jewish Detroit west side community is being torn down piece by piece. Do you have any comments? |
