Shoeless George Jackson Resigns!

**1953** · January-30-14, 10:45 AM

Historic Detroit has posted to Facebook that George Jackson has resigned from the DEGC! May Tiger Stadium and the Statler rise again!

Huzzah!

1953

**corktownyuppie** · January-30-14, 10:59 AM

The times, they are a changin.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · January-30-14, 11:02 AM

Neither Tiger Stadium nor the Statler had a future life in them. The Statler was no Book-Cadillac. Sad when old things pass, but sometimes they do need to be torn down.

**401don** · January-30-14, 11:02 AM

Show the man some respect. For all he's accomplished he deserves a gravel parking lot named after him.

**ghettopalmetto** · January-30-14, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

Show the man some respect. For all he's accomplished he deserves a gravel parking lot named after him.

...or a "community garden" located next door to Lafayette Coney Island.

**buckster1986** · January-30-14, 11:11 AM

I don't think I am alone on this but I feel that the Statler would be in the process of finding financing to be renovated into apartments as we speak if it were still standing. I believe it was a significant loss to Grand Circus Park, Downtown and Detroit as a whole.

**mikeg19** · January-30-14, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by buckster1986

I don't think I am alone on this but I feel that the Statler would be in the process of finding financing to be renovated into apartments as we speak if it were still standing. I believe it was a significant loss to Grand Circus Park, Downtown and Detroit as a whole.

Second this. The western portion of GCP has been obliterated, and it was honestly the best view of the park.

**Gistok** · January-30-14, 11:33 AM

As much as I would like to agree about the Statler, there were some financial issues that they couldn't overcome. One was what I call "the armpit" of the Statler. the interior wing of the building within the "V" of the building, had very corroded metal superstructure without any brickwork at all on one side. From what I gather the development folks would have wanted to take it out, but the Historic Tax Credits would not have allowed for such an undertaking, thus making the final $$ numbers not add up to a viable figure.

After seeing the results and money problems that the Book-Cadillac is now having with servicing the debt... I would have to agree with that assessment.

**motz** · January-30-14, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

Neither Tiger Stadium nor the Statler had a future life in them. The Statler was no Book-Cadillac. Sad when old things pass, but sometimes they do need to be torn down.

Yep that dirt lot they put in the Statler's place is just amazing and is helping revitalize downtown, and specifically the GCP area, in grand fashion.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! Bye George!

**Hypestyles** · January-30-14, 11:57 AM

How long has this entity existed? What would it take to dissolve the DEGC entirely? Why are city development initiatives so privatized?

**Novine** · January-30-14, 12:03 PM

Any bets on which demolition firm he ends up with as a consultant?

**Detroitnerd** · January-30-14, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by Novine

Any bets on which demolition firm he ends up with as a consultant?

A-hahahahaha! Yup. Good call!

**mwilbert** · January-30-14, 12:08 PM

If you want to say that George Jackson was someone who favored tearing down some buildings that might have better been left standing, I'd agree with that. But not everything he helped get torn down should have been saved either.

I don't know about the feasibility of redeveloping the Statler, but I can't imagine it would have been a cheap project to do--the building was large, and converting a hotel of that vintage to residential use would probably require virtually the entire interior to be gutted. Do people think it was a particularly significant building? I always thought it was kind of undistinguished, except by its bulk.

**rjlj** · January-30-14, 12:11 PM

Good Riddance!

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · January-30-14, 12:23 PM

Now who will make the case that empty lots will attract droves of developers?

**DetroitPlanner** · January-30-14, 12:24 PM

Be careful what you wish for. He might go work for Matty.

**ghettopalmetto** · January-30-14, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

I don't know about the feasibility of redeveloping the Statler, but I can't imagine it would have been a cheap project to do--the building was large, and converting a hotel of that vintage to residential use would probably require virtually the entire interior to be gutted.

That kind of work gets done all the time. Well, outside of Detroit, anyway.

**stinkytofu** · January-30-14, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by Hypestyles

How long has this entity existed? What would it take to dissolve the DEGC entirely? Why are city development initiatives so privatized?

The DEGC may be going away. There was an article in the Freep or DetNews a few months ago that said either Orr or Duggan appointed Lewan to run development in the city...basically doing the DEGC's job. The article very much left the future of the DEGC in doubt.

**mwilbert** · January-30-14, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by ghettopalmetto

That kind of work gets done all the time. Well, outside of Detroit, anyway.

And this kind of building also gets torn down all the time. There are only the resources to do a relatively small number of redevelopment projects downtown, and it is certainly not obvious to me that redoing the Statler was the best use of those resources.

**48202** · January-30-14, 01:12 PM

From December 19 Free Press article:

[Duggan] appointed longtime friend and lawyer Tom Lewand, father of Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand, as the executive in charge of jobs and economic development. The likely outcome will be a consolidation of the city’s sprawling planning and development bureaucracy now known for delays and inefficiency — and a diminished role for the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., the outside agency that has for years spearheaded some of Detroit’s largest developments, including the renovation of what’s now the Westin Book Cadillac hotel and the plan for a new Detroit Red Wings hockey arena and entertainment district.

**Detroitnerd** · January-30-14, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by mwilbert

And this kind of building also gets torn down all the time. There are only the resources to do a relatively small number of redevelopment projects downtown, and it is certainly not obvious to me that redoing the Statler was the best use of those resources.

And this kind of building also gets rehabbed all the time. There are only the resources to do a relatively small number of demolitions downtown, and it is certainly not obvious to me that demoing the Statler was the best use of those resources.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · January-30-14, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by motz

Yep that dirt lot they put in the Statler's place is just amazing and is helping revitalize downtown, and specifically the GCP area, in grand fashion.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! Bye George!

The Statler was never going to be redeveloped. It would have been a very expensive redo for a building that was never as nice as the B-C [[the most comparable project downtown). Unless someone was willing to just lose money forever on it [[and no one would do that, including anyone on this site, even if they had the money), it just wasn't in the cards. It is easier to one day build on a dirt lot with a clear title than deal with a decrepit eyesore looming over GCP. Since you can't save and renovate every building, you need to be choosy about what to save. The Statler didn't merit saving. Same thing with Tiger Stadium. Sure, there were lots of pretend plans to save it. In reality, there wasn't any realistic way to save it. All the "plans" lacked an ability to pay for the condos/retail/restaurants/baseball museums/ballfields they contained. Gilbert has the right idea: save the buildings that can have a useful future at a reasonable price. Save the dramatic efforts for the one or two most important buildings. I would put MCS on that list [[although, as noted in other threads, not as a train station). George Jackson may have made his share of mistakes, but he has also left a lot of places available for development that were not beforehand. I shudder to think where economic growth would be in this city if some of those on this board had their way. We would still be figuring out how to reopen Hudson's [[world's largest check cashing store?). Sepia-toned memories of old buildings does not a sensible economic policy make. Ironically, uber-preservations do their cause harm. It renders neighborhoods empty and decaying, preventing entrepreneurs from wanting to redevelop the odd project that would otherwise make sense.

**ghettopalmetto** · January-30-14, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

The Statler was never going to be redeveloped. It would have been a very expensive redo for a building that was never as nice as the B-C [[the most comparable project downtown).

And you know the cost of such a "redo", how? To my knowledge, no condition assessments or feasibility studies were ever conducted by DEGC prior to demolition. George Jackson merely deemed it "structurally unsound", despite the building remaining standing for a number of decades, and despite George Jackson not having the professional qualifications to make such a determination. If you have numbers, please share with the rest of the community.

Unless someone was willing to just lose money forever on it [[and no one would do that, including anyone on this site, even if they had the money), it just wasn't in the cards.

The demolition was pre-ordained. See above: Lack of Objective Information.

It is easier to one day build on a dirt lot with a clear title than deal with a decrepit eyesore looming over GCP. Since you can't save and renovate every building, you need to be choosy about what to save.

The Statler didn't merit saving. Same thing with Tiger Stadium. Sure, there were lots of pretend plans to save it. In reality, there wasn't any realistic way to save it.

And you know this from your extensive engineering and construction experience? Or perhaps you're just guessing? Maybe you're just not remembering the millions of public dollars it cost to *create* that empty lot.
See above: Lack of Objective Information.

**motz** · January-30-14, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

The Statler was never going to be redeveloped. It would have been a very expensive redo for a building that was never as nice as the B-C [[the most comparable project downtown). Unless someone was willing to just lose money forever on it [[and no one would do that, including anyone on this site, even if they had the money), it just wasn't in the cards. It is easier to one day build on a dirt lot with a clear title than deal with a decrepit eyesore looming over GCP. Since you can't save and renovate every building, you need to be choosy about what to save. The Statler didn't merit saving. Same thing with Tiger Stadium. Sure, there were lots of pretend plans to save it. In reality, there wasn't any realistic way to save it. All the "plans" lacked an ability to pay for the condos/retail/restaurants/baseball museums/ballfields they contained. Gilbert has the right idea: save the buildings that can have a useful future at a reasonable price. Save the dramatic efforts for the one or two most important buildings. I would put MCS on that list [[although, as noted in other threads, not as a train station). George Jackson may have made his share of mistakes, but he has also left a lot of places available for development that were not beforehand. I shudder to think where economic growth would be in this city if some of those on this board had their way. We would still be figuring out how to reopen Hudson's [[world's largest check cashing store?). Sepia-toned memories of old buildings does not a sensible economic policy make. Ironically, uber-preservations do their cause harm. It renders neighborhoods empty and decaying, preventing entrepreneurs from wanting to redevelop the odd project that would otherwise make sense.

So not entertaining any suggestions from groups that want to save historic structures [[see: Tiger Stadium, Lafayette Building) is totally acceptable because they don't sound feasible? They had come up with some plans to allow parts of Tiger Stadium to stand, which wouldn't affect anyone because nothing is going to happen on that site any time soon, as well as evaluate the Lafayette Building on someone else's dime. But it's fine that George Jackson rushed through demolition so that we have a giant empty field and community gardens instead of structures that could've been used as part of future developments? Let's be realistic, the empty lots aren't going to be developed any time soon. Look at how long it has taken the Hudson's site to even have offers on it.

**ghettopalmetto** · January-30-14, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by motz

Let's be realistic, the empty lots aren't going to be developed any time soon. Look at how long it has taken the Hudson's site to even have offers on it.

And Hudson's has on-site parking, bought-and-paid for by the City of Detroit. If anything, that's the FIRST empty lot I expect to see developed.

But hey--it's only been 15 years since Hudsons was demolished and jump-started the ensuing development boom. Give it time.