Detroit OKs plans to raze Ford Auditorium
Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News
Detroit —The Detroit City Council approved a plan Wednesday that will raze the historic Ford Auditorium, the onetime home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that's been largely vacant for two decades.
The council unanimously approved, by a 7-0 vote, a $754,000 demolition contract to Adamo Demolition of Detroit to tear down the facility that's been largely vacant for more than two decades. Council members Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson, who questioned the plan, were absent.
The approval came despite some concerns over plans to replace it with an amphitheater. Some members are concerned the site will take the path of Tiger Stadium or the Hudson's department store and remain a vacant lot.
Council President Charles Pugh said it made sense to approve the demolition but ask what's going to happen next.
"It's been a long time coming," said Pugh, whose high school graduation in 1989 was held in the facility. "That's prime property and it's right on the riverfront. For what we want for that riverfront, which is family-friendly activity, and not an empty desolate empty space that's been sitting there for a generation literally, it's just time for this. It was the right thing to do."
Karla Henderson, a group executive who oversees planning, breathed a sign of relief after the vote.
"It is time to capitalize on all the promise of our riverfront and I applaud City Council for working with us toapprove the demolition ofFord Auditorium," Mayor Dave Bing said in a statement. "This represents an important step forward in eliminating blight and allowing us to utilize one of our greatest assets."
Bing wants to raze the auditorium, built in 1955, and construct a 5,000-seat amphitheater on Hart Plaza.
City officials say the plan has the blessing of the Ford family, who donated money for the auditorium that once was home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins said today's vote is a boost for the city.
"It's an indication of what's to come," Jenkins said. "Ford Auditorium has been standing empty for over two decades. The fact we're now moving forward now means we're ready for new things in the city. This was a good step forward."
The facility has been largely vacant since the orchestra left in 1989. Since its closure, plans for the auditorium's reuse have come and gone, including proposals for a Comerica bank headquarters, a Gospel Music Hall of Fame and an aquarium. The only reuse that stuck — for a year — was a homeless shelter in the mid-1990s.
"The symbolism of seeing cranes in Detroit, I don't think you can measure how good that makes people feel. That alone has measure to it," said Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown.
"I really didn't have a lot of doubt that it wasn't going to pass. People need to be patient and allow us to do our due diligence so that we get questions answered and we don't make a mistake. I'm glad to see it come down. Way back in Coleman Young's days, they tried to get the thing down and put up another structure, and it's been empty ever since."
dnichols@detnews.com
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110317/...#ixzz1MG8k7Knj