The future for Detroit's MCR rail building?

I have heard that debris removal has been happening daily [[night and day?), and a new roof and windows are on the way. Any firm word on where the building's future lays?

From Wikipedia:

The City of Detroit considered the building a "Priority Cultural Site" in 2006,the City Council on April 7, 2009 passed a resolution aimed at the demolition of the Depot.Seven days later, Detroit resident Stanley Christmas sued the city of Detroit to stop the demolition effort, citing the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The future of the building remains undetermined.

Then [[Wiki again, further down the page):

Renovation estimates have ranged from $80 to $300 million. The Detroit Wayne County Port Authority has the ability to issue bonds and could take part in financing.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $244 million in grants for high-speed rail upgrades between Chicago and Detroit. A consortium of investors including the Canadian Pacific Railway has proposed a new larger rail tunnel capable of handling large double stacked freight cars under the Detroit River which could open in 2015.With the new tunnel emerging near the Michigan Central Station, a redeveloped station could play a role as a trade inspection facility.

On May 5, 2011, the Detroit International Bridge Company announced it engaged the Ann Arbor firm of Quinn Evans to oversee restoration of the roof and windows of the structure. Bridge Company vice chairman Matthew Moroun stated, “We hope this is just the beginning of a renaissance for the depot."

On June 6, 2011, partial asbestos abatement on the first floor began. The work will be conducted by Professional Abatement Services, Inc. of Melvindale, Michigan.

As of June 28, 2012, work lights have illuminated the main lobby nightly. Abatement of debris continues daily. The website "talktothestation.com" has been launched by the Michigan Central Station Preservation Society to provide a sounding board for community questions and suggestions.

Is a lot of money being spent on the building, with no precise plan for its future?

IMO not enough has been spent to secure the building's future. The owners only did this as they are being hounded by the media as being one of the biggest owners of blighted properties in the City, and they launched a political campaign to keep the status quo.

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Originally Posted by night-timer

I have heard that debris removal has been happening daily [[night and day?), and a new roof and windows are on the way. Any firm word on where the building's future lays?

From Wikipedia:

The City of Detroit considered the building a "Priority Cultural Site" in 2006,the City Council on April 7, 2009 passed a resolution aimed at the demolition of the Depot.Seven days later, Detroit resident Stanley Christmas sued the city of Detroit to stop the demolition effort, citing the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The future of the building remains undetermined.

Then [[Wiki again, further down the page):

Renovation estimates have ranged from $80 to $300 million. The Detroit Wayne County Port Authority has the ability to issue bonds and could take part in financing.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $244 million in grants for high-speed rail upgrades between Chicago and Detroit. A consortium of investors including the Canadian Pacific Railway has proposed a new larger rail tunnel capable of handling large double stacked freight cars under the Detroit River which could open in 2015.With the new tunnel emerging near the Michigan Central Station, a redeveloped station could play a role as a trade inspection facility.

On May 5, 2011, the Detroit International Bridge Company announced it engaged the Ann Arbor firm of Quinn Evans to oversee restoration of the roof and windows of the structure. Bridge Company vice chairman Matthew Moroun stated, “We hope this is just the beginning of a renaissance for the depot."

On June 6, 2011, partial asbestos abatement on the first floor began. The work will be conducted by Professional Abatement Services, Inc. of Melvindale, Michigan.

As of June 28, 2012, work lights have illuminated the main lobby nightly. Abatement of debris continues daily. The website "talktothestation.com" has been launched by the Michigan Central Station Preservation Society to provide a sounding board for community questions and suggestions.

Is a lot of money being spent on the building, with no precise plan for its future?

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I drove buy it 2 days ago. The bottom windows are painted plywood, but that, @ least, offers some building security. I haven't noticed any particularly active construction going on, but I don't monitor the activities daily. If the Feds are doling out dollars for high speed rail, you can bet this is the driving force behind the MCS "restoration". A good opportunity to recoup some of that $33 mil spent on trying to stop the new bridge.

http://www.fwrail.org/

Here is a website that proposes a great use of the Michigan Central depot.

the map of the regional transit system is well thought-out.

http://www.fwrail.org/fwinfo/sm_rail.pdf

Has a 4th window been installed at MCS yet? Those 3 existing ones are getting awfully lonely!

As for that Freshwater Railway link... it might as well be a link to Gilbert's maglev gondola's! :[[

From what I know there is electricity in select areas of the building, if you look along the southwest corner you'll notice a green utility box where the old giant panel used to be.

The roof is completely off the southern section of the concorse, which bums me out as there is no protection from the elements, not that there has been for the last 23 years, but it's more direct now.

There is exterior architectural lighting around the perimeter of the building.

Three real windows have gone in on the north side, I'm told they are temporary test windows. Along the bottom are the plywood painted windows as well as on the southern top floor there are a couple plywood frames sitting in the windows.

I've also noticed on my last trip there are wooden guard rails along an upper floor.

The biggest feature that shows proof work is going on is on the southeast section of the station, where you see three or four giant piles of rubble.

It's frustratingly slow progress but things do seem to be happening. When I was there a couple days ago there were a bundle of about 12 gas tanks which I assume are for acetylene torches.

I'm told we'll see a lot more happening as the weather warms up, I've been told a lot of things so I take it with a grain of salt, but judging how the last six months of 2012 went, I am more inclined to believe it this time.

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Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

The biggest feature that shows proof work is going on is on the southeast section of the station, where you see three or four giant piles of rubble.

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Maybe it's coke heading for Nova Scotia?

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Originally Posted by Gistok

Has a 4th window been installed at MCS yet? Those 3 existing ones are getting awfully lonely!

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LOL

Too true. Matty has the money to do whatever he wants, he chooses to let this site rot.

Only 2 things are missing: the dirigible docking station and the link to California High Speed Rail.

........

I am a proponent of mass transit [[I use it almost daily). But as dreamy as this plan is, it isn't even slightly affordable to build, let alone maintain.

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Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

I've also noticed on my last trip there are wooden guard rails along an upper floor.

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Shocker..... it took how many years to do this as mandated by city code? The liability is so great I'm surprised there's never been a lawsuit

The Freshwater rail system for southeast Michigan and its coast-to-coast component will not be built soon but it is not a totally impossible dream. This nation has the resources to invest greatly. While estimates are not exact, it is reasonable to assume that the cost of the war in Iraq was in excess of 800 billion and the cost of the war in Afghanistan was in excess of 600 billion. We made a judgement that such expenditures were good for the country. Is it unrealistic to think that Congress might appropriate 5 or 10% as much to build a modern commuter and long distance rail that would improve the quality of life and reduce energy use in the USA and its major cities such as Detroit?

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Originally Posted by renf

While estimates are not exact, it is reasonable to assume that the cost of the war in Iraq was in excess of 800 billion and the cost of the war in Afghanistan was in excess of 600 billion. We made a judgement that such expenditures were good for the country. Is it unrealistic to think that Congress might appropriate 5 or 10% as much to build a modern commuter and long distance rail that would improve the quality of life and reduce energy use in the USA and its major cities such as Detroit?

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1) Yes, it is unrealistic to expect that Congress would do that.

2) You could probably build the Michigan portion of such a system for the amount you describe, but even if you assume Congress would pay for such a system, they wouldn't pay for a Michigan-only system, so you would have to multiply that by a factor of 20 or so.

It's also unlikely that the state and its subdivisions could afford the operating subsidies such a system would almost surely require.

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Originally Posted by Gistok

Has a 4th window been installed at MCS yet? Those 3 existing ones are getting awfully lonely!

As for that Freshwater Railway link... it might as well be a link to Gilbert's maglev gondola's! :[[

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#4 is in there. It is paired up to #3... off to the right of center, a few floors from the top.

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Originally Posted by mwilbert

It's also unlikely that the state and its subdivisions could afford the operating subsidies such a system would almost surely require.

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So what you're saying is, what other states and regions do routinely and have been doing for decades, is impossible in Michigan?