AMC headquarters [[PROC) may be headed to demolition

[kathy2trips]

Look at all the "worthwhile" empty lots in Detroit where nothing has been going on for decades. In comparison, look at this beauty and then look at the new, bland, expensive construction going on in Detroit lately. I won't name any names, but you know exactly what I'm talking about.



The DPD and DFD are crying for new facilities. Couldn't this building be re-used for one of them? That would be a treasure! How much was the new 5th Precinct building? Imagine putting that money into this. One of the few positive attributes we have left in the city is our architecture far too expensive to duplicate today. We just can't afford to be pennywise and pound foolish anymore. Think, Detroit, out of the box if you must, but think before you destroy!

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Look at all the "worthwhile" empty lots in Detroit where nothing has been going on for decades. In comparison, look at this beauty and then look at the new, bland, expensive construction going on in Detroit lately. I won't name any names, but you know exactly what I'm talking about.



The DPD and DFD are crying for new facilities. Couldn't this building be re-used for one of them? That would be a treasure! How much was the new 5th Precinct building? Imagine putting that money into this. One of the few positive attributes we have left in the city is our architecture far too expensive to duplicate today. We just can't afford to be pennywise and pound foolish anymore. Think, Detroit, out of the box if you must, but think before you destroy!

I could not agree more. Why persist in the "if we tear it down they will come" fantasy? With all of the vacant land available already, there is no need to create more. Mothball the irreplaceable structure and look for a creative reuse.

[Wesley Mouch]

I could not agree more. Why persist in the "if we tear it down they will come" fantasy? With all of the vacant land available already, there is no need to create more. Mothball the irreplaceable structure and look for a creative reuse.

I don't think its the 'tear it down and they will come' fantasy. I believe its simpler. New is easy to understand. It isn't complex. You get exactly what you want, where you want it. No dead white male legacy either. And a larger percentage of work goes to purchasing supplies like windows, curtain walls, steel rather than to local trades. That's the true problem with new construction. It involves more out-of-area purchases rather than local contractors. Restoration might be more appealing if municipalities didn't have to pay artificially inflated wages, while the suppliers in rural Indiana don't.

[emu steve]

I don't think its the 'tear it down and they will come' fantasy. I believe its simpler. New is easy to understand. It isn't complex. You get exactly what you want, where you want it. No dead white male legacy either. And a larger percentage of work goes to purchasing supplies like windows, curtain walls, steel rather than to local trades. That's the true problem with new construction. It involves more out-of-area purchases rather than local contractors. Restoration might be more appealing if municipalities didn't have to pay artificially inflated wages, while the suppliers in rural Indiana don't.

Location, location, location...

Folks don't want, right or wrong, that location.

No one tears that building down and build a new building there.

The real question could be buildings be re-purposed by the PUBLIC sector [[because the private sector has no interest in the building or the land.).

I think we have tossed out a lot of possible usages, e.g., senior housing, police usage, homeless shelter, college building, etc.

This situation is parallel to the residential building out on W. Grand. Lee Plaza? [[is that the name). Namely, can a building with good bones be saved if it is in undesirable location.

[canuck]

I don't think its the 'tear it down and they will come' fantasy. I believe its simpler. New is easy to understand. It isn't complex. You get exactly what you want, where you want it. No dead white male legacy either. And a larger percentage of work goes to purchasing supplies like windows, curtain walls, steel rather than to local trades. That's the true problem with new construction. It involves more out-of-area purchases rather than local contractors. Restoration might be more appealing if municipalities didn't have to pay artificially inflated wages, while the suppliers in rural Indiana don't.

Yes, I understand the "easy part". I don't think this mentality has enabled better practices in urban development in our cities. Detroit has Lost à lot on that count. The industrial Heritage is not always pretty architectural speaking, but in cases where it is, it is worth the effort to rehab and reuse.

[GMan]

I don't think its the 'tear it down and they will come' fantasy. I believe its simpler. New is easy to understand. It isn't complex. You get exactly what you want, where you want it. No dead white male legacy either. And a larger percentage of work goes to purchasing supplies like windows, curtain walls, steel rather than to local trades. That's the true problem with new construction. It involves more out-of-area purchases rather than local contractors. Restoration might be more appealing if municipalities didn't have to pay artificially inflated wages, while the suppliers in rural Indiana don't.

I understand the New vs Old. New is cheaper [[on clean land ) vs renovation of old. Floor plans are to suite instead of compromised adaptations of renovated. New is easier to to wire for today's computer dependent society etc. What I don't get is the comment " No dead white male legacy." Somebody built a building that made a statement to the community in the 40's ,adding a touch of aesthetics to make it look pleasing. How is it any less relevant to the community today. It's woven into the fabric of the community. It has shared the success and failures of the community. The community is already lamenting the potential loss of the building and yet the comment to tear it down because it was built by a white man? It's no wonder the city can't move forward on a grand scale.
Okay tear it down. Have a weed infested lot to stare at instead of a relic of the past to spur imagination Tear it down and have a vacant promise instead of a bold building that represents what can be achieved when many people come together. Oh btw modern buildings do not come close to the brick and mortar type for employing large number of craftsman. Those same craftsman then went on to build the neighborhoods for their families. Don't see a lot of steel framed / panel covered homes around do you?
The modern cookie cutter society dulls the mind!