Abandoned DPS Book Repository: What's Matty Up To?

[Honky Tonk]

The most troubling thing to me are the comments that say he is a dictatorship but also the city should seize his properties.

The thing is the same laws that would apply to seize his properties could be used to seize yours.

First off, Richard, you totally took my dictator comment out of contex. To get a firm comprehensive of what I meant, please re-read the post above mine. Second, the difference between how the law will affect somone like Matty Moroun, and someone like Honky Tonk, is directly propotionate to the amount of money each one has. Mr. Moroun will be able to stall indefinitely in a court of law, [[see 2nd span fiasco) and Honky Tonk will be sitting on the curb with his Hello Kitty collection in short order.

[Richard]

I'm with you Southen... I can't make sense of Richard's rambling either??

If his point is that he's just like any other Joe... then that point is lost in his deep pocket attempts at litigating things his way... which most of us can't even afford.

Also... last time I checked... he didn't build either the Ambassador Bridge or the MCS... and his maintenance work on either is shabby at best... regardless at how few windows he's put into the tower.

He's playing the public for a fool... and well at least most of the public sees thru his ruse....

It is rambling if you cannot come back with answers instead of senseless jabs.

How much in back taxes does he owe on his abandoned properties ?
How many does he employ in the city that he well had the means to abandon long ago?
How many hundreds of millions in taxpayer incentives did he collect to employ them?

Can you answer those questions ?

I find it ironic that one who makes a living documenting abandoned properties for ruin porn jumps into a discussion complaining about so called abandoned properties,that's almost as bad as standing up in support of demolishing an historic hotel because a new book is coming out.

Thats the difference,I may ramble but at least I pay attention to posts and thier opinions and respect them weather I agree or not and look at the bigger picture other then one post one day.

Life is simple with all of this new Tecno stuff I do believe the option of blocking ones rambling

[p69rrh51]

I always find the Moroun crying on here laughable, its the same old broken record. On the other hand nobody ever mentions the other culprit in the Moroun saga, the City of Detroit itself. If the city actually functioned properly code violations would be issued and the owner would be forced to bring the building up to code. Someday the city will actually enforce laws that are already on the books.

[southen]

It is rambling if you cannot come back with answers instead of senseless jabs.

How much in back taxes does he owe on his abandoned properties ?
How many does he employ in the city that he well had the means to abandon long ago?
How many hundreds of millions in taxpayer incentives did he collect to employ them?

Can you answer those questions ?

I find it ironic that one who makes a living documenting abandoned properties for ruin porn jumps into a discussion complaining about so called abandoned properties,that's almost as bad as standing up in support of demolishing an historic hotel because a new book is coming out.

Thats the difference,I may ramble but at least I pay attention to posts and thier opinions and respect them weather I agree or not and look at the bigger picture other then one post one day.

Life is simple with all of this new Tecno stuff I do believe the option of blocking ones rambling

who makes a living off of ruin porn?!? if someone out there is doing that i must talk to them...

so in theory, based on what i would deem extremely flawed logic, if i employ people and pay taxes i should be able to be a slumlord? you would be ok with me purchasing huge swaths of the city and letting it rot as long as im good with the tax man?

[southen]

I always find the Moroun crying on here laughable, its the same old broken record. On the other hand nobody ever mentions the other culprit in the Moroun saga, the City of Detroit itself. If the city actually functioned properly code violations would be issued and the owner would be forced to bring the building up to code. Someday the city will actually enforce laws that are already on the books.

you are comparing a city with few resources and many external factors to deal with to someone with immense resources who let things rot because he could. just a tad bit different, no?

the city absolutely has to do a better job enforcing codes, but the blame for the state of michigan central station falls almost completely on the billionaire who couldnt spare a dime to mothball the place.

[SyGolden48236]

If a good business case could be made to redevelop MCS you can bet that Manuel Moroun would have done something with it long ago. The plain fact of the matter is that there is no good business reason to put any money into it at this point. Take your emotions out of it and look at the balance sheet. The same reasons exist today that doomed it from the day it opened. It is too far from downtown to be a viable property. It is a white elephant in a dead area of a mostly dead city.

Just be glad that the taxes are being paid on the property. Anyone else would have completely abandoned the property long ago and it would now be owned by the city and not collecting any tax revenue at all.

[sumas]

Mattys intentional destruction of a fabulous building is simply his way of giving Detroit a one finger salute.

[SyGolden48236]

Mattys intentional destruction of a fabulous building is simply his way of giving Detroit a one finger salute.

No, it was the trespassers, vandals and scrappers that destroyed the building. And the building was pretty much trashed before Moroun bought it. But nice try.

[SyGolden48236]

Intriguing thought and may his body and his pervert brother who runs a string of substandard nursing homes and likes to snap shots of little boys be the first in. Then implode the building

They are truely evil & souless. That is one tainted bloodline. Make sure the family is doing visitation to include them in on the implosion.

The Moroun Nursing Home is owned by John Moroun. He is Manuel's nephew, not his brother.

And aren't you so high and mighty calling someone else names, casting judgement and pointing your craggy finger at others. Remember, when you point one finger at someone else you have three fingers pointing back at you. Feh!

[canuck]

If a good business case could be made to redevelop MCS you can bet that Manuel Moroun would have done something with it long ago. The plain fact of the matter is that there is no good business reason to put any money into it at this point. Take your emotions out of it and look at the balance sheet. The same reasons exist today that doomed it from the day it opened. It is too far from downtown to be a viable property. It is a white elephant in a dead area of a mostly dead city.

Just be glad that the taxes are being paid on the property. Anyone else would have completely abandoned the property long ago and it would now be owned by the city and not collecting any tax revenue at all.

"A dead area in a mostly dead city". This has the ring of "Nobody lives there". And you know what that will get you.

There are modern cities being built where few people thought anything could happen in a lot of places around the world; China, Azerbaidjan, the Emirates, the Kurdish territories of Iraq. Israel made the deserts bloom again. Detroit was an unlikely place for a big city maybe 200 years ago. We can imagine a better downtown now that more investment is happening in the CBD. We can imagine better transit options with the M1 rail coming soon. Let's be a bit more positive in this case too.

[SyGolden48236]

If the hope of Detroit rests on the M1 rail, a.k.a People Mover II, then you might as well turn off the lights and lock the door behind you right now.

[canuck]

Yes, a lot of people said the same about the first rickety shops where the first odd-o-mobiles were made.

Don't forget, the M1 rail project has some of the top players' names penned on it. If all it takes for you to give up on Detroit is the advent of M1, I feel sorry for your lack of I...

[southen]

If a good business case could be made to redevelop MCS you can bet that Manuel Moroun would have done something with it long ago. The plain fact of the matter is that there is no good business reason to put any money into it at this point. Take your emotions out of it and look at the balance sheet. The same reasons exist today that doomed it from the day it opened. It is too far from downtown to be a viable property. It is a white elephant in a dead area of a mostly dead city.

Just be glad that the taxes are being paid on the property. Anyone else would have completely abandoned the property long ago and it would now be owned by the city and not collecting any tax revenue at all.

ok but you do realize that at some point in the past he did purchase the building right? he purchased a building in decent shape and let it rot, but thats ok because we should have faith that if he could make money from it he would have?

i would prefer it being in its current state through city ownership because i can then understand the circumstances behind the building's demise. a broke city that cant afford basic necessities for its citizens certainly isnt going to make preserving that building a priority. i get that. what doesnt make sense and is infuriating is a billionaire who purchases the building and cant even hire a security guard to make sure the building is secure and preserved for future development. the old bag can spend 30 million on ads to dupe voters but cant spend 80k a year to pay someone to watch the place?

i wonder what is in fact more beneficial for the city in general... the tax revenue the city gets from the building or the impact a building that wasnt crumbling and left to rot would have had on the surrounding neighborhood.

[Richard]

First off, Richard, you totally took my dictator comment out of contex. To get a firm comprehensive of what I meant, please re-read the post above mine. Second, the difference between how the law will affect somone like Matty Moroun, and someone like Honky Tonk, is directly propotionate to the amount of money each one has. Mr. Moroun will be able to stall indefinitely in a court of law, [[see 2nd span fiasco) and Honky Tonk will be sitting on the curb with his Hello Kitty collection in short order.

I understood the whole thread and you were most likely correct as most private companies are run as a dictatorship.

If everything was run on our emotions we all would be sitting on the curb eyeing your hello kitty collection.

The easy way to resolve all of this is to throw a number at him,all of the saints of Detroit have been given or are scheduled to receive hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds to improve the city so offer him say five hundred million?

The well he's a billionaire already speak does not hold water because the others are also.

It is after all free money after all,so that's my guess Five hundred million sounds good and should get him on the Detroit path of sainthood.

[Richard]

ok but you do realize that at some point in the past he did purchase the building right? he purchased a building in decent shape and let it rot, but thats ok because we should have faith that if he could make money from it he would have?

i would prefer it being in its current state through city ownership because i can then understand the circumstances behind the building's demise. a broke city that cant afford basic necessities for its citizens certainly isnt going to make preserving that building a priority. i get that. what doesnt make sense and is infuriating is a billionaire who purchases the building and cant even hire a security guard to make sure the building is secure and preserved for future development. the old bag can spend 30 million on ads to dupe voters but cant spend 80k a year to pay someone to watch the place?

i wonder what is in fact more beneficial for the city in general... the tax revenue the city gets from the building or the impact a building that wasnt crumbling and left to rot would have had on the surrounding neighborhood.

Were you appalled by the lack of security in 2009 and did you profit from the wedding photo shoot and were some of the proceeds from the shoot contributed towards said lack of security?

Pretty nice guy to buy and pay taxes on a building for others personal gain who then call him an old bag.

[southen]

Were you appalled by the lack of security in 2009 and did you profit from the wedding photo shoot and were some of the proceeds from the shoot contributed towards said lack of security?

Pretty nice guy to buy and pay taxes on a building for others personal gain who then call him an old bag.

yes. i used to visit the david whitney building and broderick tower too when their owners were negligent and i am thrilled that they have been redeveloped. i prefer that we have no abandoned structures in the city.

its funny you should bring up that shoot. one, i did it for free for the experience. two, im often asked if it is possibly to replicate that shoot by couples looking for something similar... i have to tell them no because moroun hired a rent-a-cop to patrol the perimeter. you see how easy it is to deter me, and others, from entering the place? i suppose i somehow prevented him from doing that after purchasing the building?

for the record i dont think matty is a nice guy for purchasing an architectural gem and important piece of our history and letting it rot, even if it allowed me to take a women in there in 2009 and photograph her in a wedding dress. i would have much preferred a responsible billionaire owner and never having done the shoot.

[Dbest]

Southen, dont waste your time with this person. I'm sure I can speak for many when I say your photos are great and significant historical archives. A major attraction tied to this site is "The fabulous ruins of Detroit" and is probably how some people stumbled across this board...

[sumas]

No, it was the trespassers, vandals and scrappers that destroyed the building. And the building was pretty much trashed before Moroun bought it. But nice try.

You of course forget that he failed to secure or police it for years and years. Same bad blood.

[sumas]

Southen, dont waste your time with this person. I'm sure I can speak for many when I say your photos are great and significant historical archives. A major attraction tied to this site is "The fabulous ruins of Detroit" and is probably how some people stumbled across this board...

I second that.

[Hypestyles]

So did Moroun-- or a proxy-- donate to Duggan's campaign at all? At this point, post-EM, can Duggan be reliable to deal firmly with the DIBC's operations and all the blight, including the MCS? The city should be demanding a master plan from owners of the larger-scale blighted properties. Just letting them sit until "the right deal comes along" isn't good enough anymore. I don't care. These land speculators are horrible. 99% of them don't live here but Detroiters are told they should just hush up and be glad that "some taxes" are being paid on it, meanwhile such grossly ostentatious blight is scarcely allowed to linger in the affluent communities. The hypocrisy is naked.

[sumas]

"A dead area in a mostly dead city". This has the ring of "Nobody lives there". And you know what that will get you.

There are modern cities being built where few people thought anything could happen in a lot of places around the world; China, Azerbaidjan, the Emirates, the Kurdish territories of Iraq. Israel made the deserts bloom again. Detroit was an unlikely place for a big city maybe 200 years ago. We can imagine a better downtown now that more investment is happening in the CBD. We can imagine better transit options with the M1 rail coming soon. Let's be a bit more positive in this case too.

Thank you for your positivity. No one thing can restore a city and build a new destiny but each piece adds to the creation of a new mosaic.

[masterblaster]

If a good business case could be made to redevelop MCS you can bet that Manuel Moroun would have done something with it long ago. The plain fact of the matter is that there is no good business reason to put any money into it at this point. Take your emotions out of it and look at the balance sheet. The same reasons exist today that doomed it from the day it opened. It is too far from downtown to be a viable property. It is a white elephant in a dead area of a mostly dead city.

Just be glad that the taxes are being paid on the property. Anyone else would have completely abandoned the property long ago and it would now be owned by the city and not collecting any tax revenue at all.

Maroun could have spent the money to secure the building and premises...and he still would have been a billionaire. When you buy a building, shouldn't you maintain it and secure it?

Plus the neighborhood in which the train station is located, Corktown, is not dead. It is one of the few neighborhoods that is seeing major investment, and there are few residential vacancies in the neighborhood.

[canuck]

Thank you for your positivity. No one thing can restore a city and build a new destiny but each piece adds to the creation of a new mosaic.

Yes. And what is the maxim which applies to all our cities boom or bust? Maybe "Rome wasn't built in a day ".

If you stop to think how much was built in the first half century of Detroit industry, then nothing is impossible in terms of a turnaround. Why are we experiencing the brilliant rise of China and accepting a long drawn out period of shoegazing for Detroit?
Detroit is rising, and if a metropolitan stance on the future of this metropolis can happen, then better and faster delivery of transit, residential schemes and retail establishments can blossom. Why exclude Detroit from the Detroit metro?

Look at how far China and India had to travel to get to this point.

[wolverine]

I get all excited when I read about "new activity" and it turns out to be new plywood over windows. Remarkable! You know....something that's legally required to be done decades too late.

At least still let me know with a big headliner when a new window on MCS is added

[248lurker]

The Moroun Nursing Home is owned by John Moroun. He is Manuel's nephew, not his brother.

Wasn't the nursing home sold some time ago? I believe it's out of the family and now known as Ambassador Nursing Home.