University Club next to fall?

[southen]

i walked by it this morning and was saddened by it but the exterior walls seemed to be somewhat intact. it may be an issue of having the funds, but the building wasnt taped off and there werent any warnings whatsoever. all i saw was a sign saying there was a $5000 reward for any information leading to an arson arrest.

its probably too much to think someone will come along and try to save it. i always thought someone could make an absolute killing hosting weddings and events there. damn shame.

[Baselinepunk]

"Well, we could go for the over/under on how many years it remains a burned out shell before it's finally the parking lot the owners always intended it to be.

Sure; what the hell. While we're here, why not?

8 years always seems to be a good number; usually comes around when the "blight cycle" bs starts up ... So put me down for 10.

[Honky Tonk]

This really, really ticks me off.

Black people in the South didn't exactly have it good either. I'm too young to know anything about the Jim Crow days but my dad and grandma went through it and they were so diligent not to pass down this very attitude that Kenyatta displays here. Everything I was ever taught about race relations - for my own personal benefit - is the opposite of Kenyatta, Jones, and their ilk. Truly sickening to me and makes me more and more thankful for the perspective I was raised with [[enough black pride to know that it's the racists who are idiots and not me, but not so much that I can't function in the real world). Kenyatta is utterly control by his bitterness.

/rant

Thanx for the reaffirmation, seriously.

[EastsideAl]

Kenyatta is such a fool on issues like this that he probably doesn't know that Wade H. McCree Jr. [[not the judge who recently made a public spectacle of himself, but his late father who was a federal Appeals Court judge, Solicitor General of the U.S., and U of M law professor) was the first African-American member of the University Club, and that several more followed. Or that, after its years as a private club, it was a YWCA for several years, open to all and serving a mostly African American community. I'm sure as hell that no slaves were ever kept there.

Of course, Ms. Goldstein was apparently shamefully under-prepared in not being able to tell him these things. Perhaps she was just too shocked when his Afro-centrism and nationalism verged over into anti-Semitism.

[royce]

I am outraged and saddened at the same time. This building deserved a better fate than the one it received. We know who the owner is, but what about the real estate person/company that sold it to them. Can we partially blame them? The real estate seller knew this was an historic building. Why not try to sell it to someone or some organization who might be interested in preserving the building or seek out parties that know parties who would be interested in preserving the building? When I first heard of the selling of the building to the party store owner I knew the building was doomed. If he said he wanted a parking lot, then why not just sell him the damn parking lot next to the building, not the building too? Soon after the purchase, the building had more and more broken windows, with some boarded up to make it appear as if the owner was concerned. Destruction by neglect. How long did it take, three years? Let me stop writing now before I insult somebody.

[Zacha341]

I was hopeful that with it proximity to downtown it could have been part of a restoration project. Prime location. What a waste......

...its probably too much to think someone will come along and try to save it. i always thought someone could make an absolute killing hosting weddings and events there. damn shame.

[Zacha341]

Interesting points! "Vitriolically nationalistic"... Hah!

I can get with being "...ideologically motivated" who isn't? It depends on the ideology!

Kwame Kenyatta represents the worst of Detroit politics. Vitriolically nationalistic, ill-informed, ideologically-motivated, and entirely ineffectual. Maybe he walked away from his historic house in Russell Woods because it was likely built by WASPs, you know, to stick it to the man. Maybe since Detroit was founded by a white guy that's why he's done his best contributing to its decline during his time in office. You know, because of, uh, slavery.

[swingline]

It's certainly been mentioned earlier in this thread, but as a reminder, the University Club was bought a couple of years ago by the Amori clan that owns the two-storefront stripmall across the street. Twenty years ago, the Amoris prevailed on the CAY administration for authority to demolish two historic apartment buildings on the site of the strip mall. They wanted to accomplish more of the same on the University Club site. After all, shouldn't both westbound and eastbound E. Jefferson motorists in that block be able to purchase liquor? For those opposed to the cheap, unneeded and butt-ugly strip mall development sought by Amori, at a minimum you can protest by never patronizing the existing party store.

[Zacha341]

I've seen and shopped in one of those 'lickka' stores years ago. Really grim and low-rent then. I'll not be shopping there anytime soon.

[Honky Tonk]

I've seen and shopped in one of those 'lickka' stores years ago. Really grim and low-rent then. I'll not be shopping there anytime soon.

I'll start buying my loose elsewhere.

[Zacha341]

You can get your 'looses' at any DOT major bus terminal [[Fairgrounds, Rosa Parks downtown etc.)...

[48205to24]

This really, really ticks me off.

[[enough black pride to know that it's the racists who are idiots and not me, but not so much that I can't function in the real world).

When someone says or does something I feel is offensive, I just imagine its Pickle from Moonshiners or Si from Duck Dynasty saying it and it is hillarious. Who can stay angry at Pickle or Si. It worked recently with the Frank Beckman fiasco who I was really suprised with. It always works with Nolan Finley. The best way to get back at people who dont think much of you or people like you is to be successful and prove them wrong.

Yes city council could have done more to save this place, but where is the anger with the owner especially if it could have been insurance fraud.
Now that the city council is a non-factor with the EM - how can we make people who purchase these properties more accountable?

[poobert]

Just in case you still had any hope for the future:
http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2013/0...uilding-burns/

You're welcome.

[Django]

Mauser has some pics on FB of the club after it burned last night. Dodger had me photograph the place a year or two ago because apparently the party store across the street was scrapping it out while it should have been considered a historical landmark. Dodger please correct me if Im wrong. As I remember they wanted the land and was eager to see the place be gone. Maybe they got what was worthy and burned the rest. This is only speculation on my part.

Mauser, Pics please.