Ilitches to tear down Cass Avenue building once part of Detroit's historic Chinatown

The city issued a demolition permit at the end of last month for 3143 Cass Ave., a vacant two-story building on Cass's west side south of Peterboro sandwiched between the old Chung's restaurant building, sold to a developer in May, and the Ilitch-owned site of the former Gold Dollar bar, which burned down four years ago and was razed.Detroit-based Farrow Group Inc. is the demolition contractor, according to online city records.

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In a statement on Monday morning confirming the planned demolition, the Ilitch family's Detroit-based Olympia Development of Michigan real estate company said: "In addition to the recent approval of 10 new and historic developments in The District Detroit we continue to work closely with the city of Detroit on developing a broader plan for all our real estate holdings."




A spokesperson for Mayor Mike Duggan said the city is not aware of plans for that site.

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https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ridor-building

That building was where the Chinese-American organizations were and the Shanghai restaurant.

Of course the Ilitches have no plans for the site, other than to rip everything down and sit on the empty lot. Just like all the other places they own. I wonder if that fate will also befall the old Ft. Wayne/American Hotel at the end of the block, or if there are any "plans" for that building too.

"Ilitches to Tear Down..."

I wonder how many times a thread has included those words over the life of this forum beginning in the 90s. Wow :mad:

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Originally Posted by rbdetsport

"Ilitches to Tear Down..."

I wonder how many times a thread has included those words over the life of this forum beginning in the 90s. Wow :mad:

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A better question would be how many times have the Illitches promised something, started something, then didn't come through, or held up the project for ransom? [more money]

You guys are so negative. I'm sure something will "surface" there.:)

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Originally Posted by 401don

You guys are so negative. I'm sure something will "surface" there.:)

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That's saying a lot...

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Originally Posted by 401don

You guys are so negative. I'm sure something will "surface" there.:)

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Could it be... drumroll..."lighted and landscaped" surface parking?!

Ahh. In a chaotic unpredictable world, some things just never change. Ilitches gonna Ilitch.

Adieu Detroit's Chinatown thanks for the memories.

1860s to 1990s

Actually, Chinatown wasn't located on Cass until the 1960's and the one on Third St wasn't very large or long lived either.

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Originally Posted by Danny

Adieu Detroit's Chinatown thanks for the memories.

1860s to 1990s

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Can I complain on here about the Ilitches and Detroit Tigers? I went to the kids day game, bought 60 dollar tickets for 4 people only to find the only kid thing being a measly certificate and a 60 person line for the carousel. The face painting ending in the 2nd inning so we missed that because of course you're getting food immediately. The merry-go-round is still broken. The sign says due to weather but the lady said they are waiting on a part and its been broken all year.

I'm just complaining but my neighborhood association does a bigger kids day than the Detroit Tigers and Ilitches, but they don't get half of their stadium plaid for by the state/Detroit. Ok. I'm done.

Back to your regularly scheduled demolition of historic buildings and construction of parking lots by Ilitch and company.

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Originally Posted by DeLemur

Can I complain on here about the Ilitches and Detroit Tigers? I went to the kids day game, bought 60 dollar tickets for 4 people only to find the only kid thing being a measly certificate and a 60 person line for the carousel. The face painting ending in the 2nd inning so we missed that because of course you're getting food immediately. The merry-go-round is still broken. The sign says due to weather but the lady said they are waiting on a part and its been broken all year.

I'm just complaining but my neighborhood association does a bigger kids day than the Detroit Tigers and Ilitches, but they don't get half of their stadium plaid for by the state/Detroit. Ok. I'm done.

Back to your regularly scheduled demolition of historic buildings and construction of parking lots by Ilitch and company.

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That’s fine DetLemur, when you’ve got that "Ill Itch", it’s perfectly normal to scratch.

^^^ OTOH, you may have more than what you bargained for. Nobody in your neighborhood association has a 32 million dollar contract to pay for.

^ actually they do,they are reminded of it come tax time,weather they attend games or not.

I did some insurance restoration work on a house built in the 1700s,in the late 1800s it was raised up and hauled 60 miles through the Florida swamps by a team of oxen.

Where I am at any time DOT wants to widen the road,any vintage house that is in the path is picked up an moved to a neighborhood that has empty lots many gapped neighborhoods are now complete.

Not just houses,3-4 story brick commercial buildings.

Easy enough to deal with cases like this,no demolition,you want a vacant lot,Jack up the building and move it.

Granted some will do the Saturday night special and bring an excavator in and come Monday morning the building is gone,just add an addendum if the building disappears,you have to reconstruct it new as it was.

This is not the 80s anymore most cities would not allow this stuff to keep happening.They just scared of pissing the billionaires off so they stop funding their campaigns.

They do this because they can,even though it would appear that the majority do not approve of it,but stuff like that comes with the territory when you choose to live under a dictatorship verses a democracy,apparently you do not have a voice in a little building let alone worry about a voice in voting.

If you do not like this stuff and want to stop it from happening,speak up,why even waste time voting these people into office if you are just going to forget about them the next day.

It’s your city,not the politicians,they work for you,if the majority does not like this and it keeps happening,you are not a democratic city,because in a democratic city the majority rules,otherwise you are just a private playground for a few billionaires that allow you to live there while they throw you a few crumbs to make you feel good and keep you complacent.

Duggan's office orders the building torn down because it's dangerous and has no historic designation
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...t/70471104007/

It just sucks that these people acquired all those properties with the intention to blight them then repeat the cycle of buying and blight over and over. Soon something else will mysteriously catch fire, then another round of renderings…

I'd have to say the Illitches didn't jump on demoing this building real quick:
From the article I linked above:

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The building has been owned since 2004 by entities linked to Olympia Development of Michigan, the real estate arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc. Olympia Development had agreed to demolish the building and had already hired a private contractor.

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Originally Posted by jcole

I'd have to say the Illitches didn't jump on demoing this building real quick:
From the article I linked above:

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Exactly ABD's point. Now "supposedly" it's unsafe and needs to be torn down. Straight from Maroun playbook.

Did you look at the article?

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The two-story building was originally slated to be razed this week because city officials declared it a "dangerous building" in 2018. The city issued a demolition citation in May

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Olympia has owned it for 20 yrs without making a move on it; it has trees growing in some of the rooms, the roof is collapsed. Now the Mayor's office wants it gone. This is what is looks like from above
Attachment 42739

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Originally Posted by jcole

Did you look at the article? Olympia has owned it for 20 yrs without making a move on it; it has trees growing in some of the rooms, the roof is collapsed. Now the Mayor's office wants it gone. This is what is looks like from above
Attachment 42739

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Trees on buildings are very fashionable now.

Not all are on, they're IN.

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Originally Posted by canuck

Trees on buildings are very fashionable now.

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Originally Posted by jcole

Not all are on, they're IN.

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Right, well they’re the "in thing", lol.

Not defending the Ilitch empire in the least, but this building doesn't appear to have any real architectural significance. Sure, it was used by the Asian community but it's an island. It's hardly preserving a Chinatown. Yet some lawyer has found a few Asian Americans who suddenly at the last moment have an interest. Do they have money or plans? Of course not.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...g/70475449007/
"Chang worries razing the building could hurt Detroit's attempts to grow it's Asian American community." Yeah, right.

I concur. I'm not defending the Illitch company for years of making parking lots, but this is pretty lame at its best. That building looks like a non descript warehouse, it was begun as someone's home, but obiously not anyone noteworthy or they would have tied a name to it by now. It didn't become anything dealing with "Chinatown" until
"Chinatown" was almost dead in Detroit. And after years of neglect, it sat unnoticed for 40 or more years and now it's important. I don't buy it.

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Originally Posted by 401don

Not defending the Ilitch empire in the least, but this building doesn't appear to have any real architectural significance. Sure, it was used by the Asian community but it's an island. It's hardly preserving a Chinatown. Yet some lawyer has found a few Asian Americans who suddenly at the last moment have an interest. Do they have money or plans? Of course not.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...g/70475449007/
"Chang worries razing the building could hurt Detroit's attempts to grow it's Asian American community." Yeah, right.

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If anyone was actually paying any attention to the latest reincarnation of District Detroit, there is no discussion of the Blenheim Apartments behind the Little Caesars HQ [which remind me of this Chinatown building] nor the Fine Arts Bldg. facade [held up by girders] on Grand Circus Park. Someone who works for city development told me that this does not bode well for these 2 buildings being around much longer. More demolition by neglect by the Ilitches.

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Originally Posted by jcole

I concur. I'm not defending the Illitch company for years of making parking lots, but this is pretty lame at its best. That building looks like a non descript warehouse, it was begun as someone's home, but obiously not anyone noteworthy or they would have tied a name to it by now. It didn't become anything dealing with "Chinatown" until
"Chinatown" was almost dead in Detroit. And after years of neglect, it sat unnoticed for 40 or more years and now it's important. I don't buy it.

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Maybe it is about the bigger picture and sending a message that if you buy a building and sit on it for years while allowing it to deteriorate,or demolition by neglect,you are going to run the risk of being denied that opportunity.

Is about stopping the cycle ?

I remember when the argument was about MTS,it’s a big hulking building out away from everybody and nobody will ever find a use for it,demolish it.

Scorch and burn did not work in the 70s and still does not work.

The back part where the tree is ,somebody has removed the steel tie beams that hold the walls together,there is one left,so it was not scrappers,somebody intentionally wanted that building to fall in on itself,common trick to make it a danger to the public for an emergency demolition order.

That walkway that went from Packard to the Administration building did not just fall across the street,it was severing the tie between a private owned property from a city owned property.

Its people playing the long game at the expense of the city.

I cannot remember where I read it,but thinking it was in Canada where somebody tore down a historical building or house on the sly and they made them re-build it authentic new out of pocket.

It’s like everything else though,when there is no accountability people do not care.

Name one city in the country where you can buy a building and let it sit for 20 years rotting away while doing nothing to it,historical or not,it just does not happen.

So in this case the historical position of the building is irrelevant,it’s the actions behind it that are being repeated all across the city.

Its quick and easy to destroy the fabric of a city,it suits todays itch but takes decades and more costly to recover from.

Now they demolish the building,next they will be asking the city taxpayers to kick in order to build a new one,city residents get screwed twice.