48 vacant buildings blight downtown Detroit

**sg9018** · August-17-09, 07:14 AM

48 vacant buildings blight downtown Detroit
The Detroit News has a interactive map,photos and artilce about, Downtown's Detroit's vacant buildings.
Artilce/Map
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...wntown-Detroit
Photos,
http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/ph...DeadBuildings/

**jt1** · August-17-09, 07:28 AM

Interesting that the only mention of Ilitch is about the GAR bukilding and it states:

"The castle-like structure is named after an organization dedicated to Union soldiers of the Civil War. Olympia Development, the development arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc., attempted to buy it in 2007 but rescinded the offer."

They certainly do like to keep his name out of these articles don't they.

**davewindsor** · August-17-09, 07:47 AM

Another doom and gloom article of downtown by Detroit News, but it at least it answers my questions in another thread about 139 Bagley, the former AAA building. It's owned by Anthony Pieroni who has a demo order issued against it, but he's filed an appeal.

**kraig** · August-17-09, 07:54 AM

This provides a good opportunity for the preservationists to link up with the owners and clean a lot of these buildings up before they fall into a state of disrepair.

Or, they can sit back and wait for the demolition orders to come and then proceed to whine and complain.

**R8RBOB** · August-17-09, 08:48 AM

Wow, with the threads about the old Cass Tech and the Book it is interesting that the News would release a story about Detroit's ruins. I found this bit of news about the Lafayette most interesting: The city offered the building to Quicken Loans last year for $1.

But the online mortgage company couldn't line up financing for new construction, so it will move its workers into the Compuware Corp. headquarters building at Campus Martius.

So the talk about historic tax credits is bunk. A poster here [[You know who you are) on this site kept ranting about tax credits and yet the city was willing to part with this property for a buck. Prime Detroit real estate and Quicken had to turn it down. I would like to look at this situation like this: Gilbert could have put 200 million dollars to restore the Lafayette but he might prefer to spend the money on something new, not something old.

Lorax · August-17-09, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by R8RBOB

Wow, with the threads about the old Cass Tech and the Book it is interesting that the News would release a story about Detroit's ruins. I found this bit of news about the Lafayette most interesting: The city offered the building to Quicken Loans last year for $1.

But the online mortgage company couldn't line up financing for new construction, so it will move its workers into the Compuware Corp. headquarters building at Campus Martius.

So the talk about historic tax credits is bunk. A poster here [[You know who you are) on this site kept ranting about tax credits and yet the city was willing to part with this property for a buck. Prime Detroit real estate and Quicken had to turn it down. I would like to look at this situation like this: Gilbert could have put 200 million dollars to restore the Lafayette but he might prefer to spend the money on something new, not something old.

Where is it stated that historic tax credits had anything to do with it? Have you looked at the condition of the Lafayette Building lately? Show me one building in the condition of the Lafayette that wouldn't be available for $1 in the city of Detroit, as long as a promise is made to restore it.

The decision not to go ahead with the Lafayette had less to do with the purchase price than the restoration costs, and the inability to get financing, based on the amount it will cost to restore it, with or without historic tax credits.

Has anyone thought why Quicken can't pay for a restoration out of pocket, in light of the fact they can get the building for one dollar? Probably because they are hanging on just like everyone else.

People on this thread had high hopes for Quicken, even going so far as to think they'd be building their own skyscraper. Well, they may as well be dealing in buggy whips and saddle soap at this point, for as relevant as their product line is in today's economy.

The Compuware building, [[another failing corporation) is a finished, ready-to-go building. An easy decision for Quicken.

**R8RBOB** · August-17-09, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by Lorax

Where is it stated that historic tax credits had anything to do with it? Have you looked at the condition of the Lafayette Building lately? Show me one building in the condition of the Lafayette that wouldn't be available for $1 in the city of Detroit, as long as a promise is made to restore it.

The decision not to go ahead with the Lafayette had less to do with the purchase price than the restoration costs, and the inability to get financing, based on the amount it will cost to restore it, with or without historic tax credits.

Has anyone thought why Quicken can't pay for a restoration out of pocket, in light of the fact they can get the building for one dollar? Probably because they are hanging on just like everyone else.

People on this thread had high hopes for Quicken, even going so far as to think they'd be building their own skyscraper. Well, they may as well be dealing in buggy whips and saddle soap at this point, for as relevant as their product line is in today's economy.

The Compuware building, [[another failing corporation) is a finished, ready-to-go building. An easy decision for Quicken.

C'mon now, you are adding more to something that does not need an argument. I was pointing out that you were insisting that if the city was to dangle a carrot [[historic tax credits) to a developer he or she might bite at that carrot. I was pointing out that the city was willing to give the building away and Quicken passed.

**izzyindetroit** · August-17-09, 09:00 AM

I know people who pay rent to live in the Farwell Building.

What is the deal with the Broderick Tower? How could have the DetNews missed that one?

**French777** · August-17-09, 09:03 AM

I think because the "ground floor" of the Broderick is occupied. It said something along the lines of ... There are many other buildings with just 1 or 2 offices/restaurants left.

PQZ · August-17-09, 09:06 AM

A quote from John Ferchill, savior of the Book Cadillac, man who wants to rehab the Book Building, the man who knows development inside and out....

"When I read all these yo-yos saying it can be saved, I'm saying that's just nuts," Ferchill said. "We did the studies and analysis, we tried hard to make the deal work. But there's a $10 million gap. It's impossible."

I also note that the Lafayette demo dollars are indeed coming from the $8 million demo fund, so the argument that the demolition takes money away from other projects is moot. The demo has zero impact on the DDAs redevelopment budget. Any mothballing of the Lafayette would come from development funds.

Waad Nahir's comments about his building is indicative of the market realities too often ignored on this forum:

"The taxes are too high and the prospects too low," said Waad Nahir, chief executive officer of Bosc Equities, which manages the former Peoples Bank building at 751 Griswold. Nahir's building has been empty for seven years, and he hopes to sell it.

Waad is a great and smart guy who took on the Dime Building renovation and has been a great partner with the City and the DDA. The DDA backed him to the hilt to get the Dime project done when others walked away from it. Waad stepped in with the 751 Building when the tenant was going to move to the 'burbs and bought the building and moved them in to the Dime. Now he is stuck with a white elephant he has been trying move for ages. I must have worked through at least a dozen prospects and half a dozen proposals with him for that building,

Waad and John speak the truth. How many are willing to listen to it?

**bailey** · August-17-09, 09:14 AM

At the same time, the city's $8 million federal fund to demolish buildings will be all but spent after the intended $1.2 million razing of the city-owned Lafayette Building. There is no additional funding expected after that is exhausted.

Well, there is a bright spot at least. Nothing else can be torn down as there is no more money to do it.

**kraig** · August-17-09, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Well, there is a bright spot at least. Nothing else can be torn down as there is no more money to do it.

But what happens when more funding is made available for demolition? Don't sleep. To all of you that have more than a passing interest in preservation, now is the time to move.

**Spaulding** · August-17-09, 10:17 AM

Now the City Planning commission is considering recomending that 55 more employess and 34,000 sf of office space move out of the Central Business District. The CPC is considering recomending rezoning to allow the Retirement Systems and their Board of Director build offices on the riverfront out past Belle Isle

**French777** · August-17-09, 11:18 AM

Speaking of abandon structures. I looked more carefully at the Metropolitan Building and even though its abandon all those hearts and words "Love" on the windows make it really not that bad of an abandon building. Its kinda neat to look at the window decorations.

Blarf · August-17-09, 11:45 AM

Whoever put that map together is a moron. Some of those red buildings you click on the map bring up buildings that are on the other side of downtown.

**royce** · August-17-09, 11:57 AM

The article said $1.2 million to demo Lafayette Building, not $11.2. My mistake.

**bailey** · August-17-09, 12:04 PM

Royce...

Now, regarding the Lafayette Building, I can't believe the statement by Ferchill, "When I read these yo-yos saying it can be saved, I'm saying that's just nuts. We did the studies and analysis, we tried hard to make the deal work." What deal? This is the first time I've heard of Ferchill directly connected to the Lafayette.

sorry you didn't hear about it, but it's been out there repeatedly...most recently in the article last week about the Book Tower which was posted on that thread. The relevant portion follows:

Ferchill says the Book Tower is one of the most viable historic structures in Detroit's downtown â€” and that's what makes this project different from other beloved historic buildings.
â€œI'll be the first to admit to you that the city of Detroit probably demolishes more than they have to, but the city of Detroit is a huge place,â€ Ferchill told Crain's. â€œYou can't fill all these buildings, so you have to pick and choose the ones that make more sense.â€
....... But Ferchill said that all too often the financial case for restoration just isn't there. â€œWith every trick we know, there was probably a $7 million to $8 million gap on [[the Lafayette), and who's going to make that up?â€ he said.
And those projections, he said, were made before the credit market crash.
An easement sale, projected in the Lafayette estimate at $5.3 million, couldn't happen today, Ferchill said. An easement is a portion of land that can be sold to another user. That would leave the gap closer to $11 million.
Ferchill said his team spent six to nine months researching a Lafayette renovation in 2007 and couldn't make the numbers work due to the deterioration of the structure.

The BC could be saved after all that time vacant but the Lafayette can't?

No one is saying the Lafayette can't be saved. They are all saying it's too expensive to save and there is no market for it if rehabbed so it won't be saved. The BC had the public backing and the public dollars to make it work, neither is there for the Lafayette.

**Patrick** · August-17-09, 12:56 PM

The Vinton project was by several forumers years ago. Not sure if it fell through or not. there were a number of excellent threads on it....before many of the current posters were here.

**Patrick** · August-17-09, 01:38 PM

Waad Nahir's comments about his building is indicative of the market realities too often ignored on this forum:

"The taxes are too high and the prospects too low," said Waad Nahir, chief executive officer of Bosc Equities, which manages the former Peoples Bank building at 751 Griswold. Nahir's building has been empty for seven years, and he hopes to sell it

.

This.

**Hypestyles** · August-17-09, 06:26 PM

is it really all that expensive to tear down most downtown structures? what's the breakdown for the cost projections--

**reddog289** · August-17-09, 11:45 PM

After reading the article, I had forgotten about some of the buildings listed such as Ford Auditorium. Got my October issue of Hot Rod magazine. They even have an article of Detroits abandoned factories.

**LeannaM** · August-18-09, 12:00 AM

1133 Griswold building. Is that a modern building, or a historic building with a modern face?

Just wondering.

I know in 1999, Downtown St. Louis had about 70 vacant or underutilized buildings. Now there's less than a dozen. Obviously they're different cities, and Downtown St. Louis isn't very big, but there may be hope for Detroit yet. Of course, when Downtown St. Louis began its renaissance, the economy was better across the country. State and Federal Historic tax credits have a lot to do with it. A few renovation projects are still happening [[like Kiel Opera House), but it has slowed down. A few major buildings [[Arcade, Dillard's, St. Louis Centre, a few of the Cupples Station Buildings) are still empty and awaiting development.

Looking at the interactive map of Detroit, it's funny that you can have an ugly, blank-faced building like 1120 Griswold next to a gorgeous building like 62 State Street.