15 Story Tower Demolition at Wayne State--what's up?

[Lowell]

Driving down 3rd on Friday I noticed this. Anybody know what why this is happening? Seems awfully 'young' to be going down. Also, while editing the photo, I notice the upper two floors of the old [forgot its name] apartment building in the center of the WSU campus, in the background left, are being worked on.

[Lowell]

And across the street, looking right and left, a mass of new residential units have been completed.

[CrashDummy]

Wayne State University’s 47-year-old Helen L. DeRoy Apartments, which has long been marred with sanitation and structural issues, is set to start demolition.

The decision comes after a 2015 condition assessment of the 15-story building, in which university officials determined that the cost of repairing the infrastructure was higher than the cost of building new apartments. For years, students had been complaining of water leaks, black mold, and even mushrooms growing out of carpets.


https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits...roy-apartments

[poobert]

I know we talk about valuing the built environment and that people once viewed Victorian homes with the same disdain we hold for buildings like this...but I feel like this place was a bona fide dump.

I wouldn't miss Manoogian Hall either, except for the "ethnic" rooms inside:
https://foursquare.com/v/alex-manoog...64a520677129e3

[NSortzi]

The new Anthony Wayne Drive Apartments across the street were built to replace Deroy, which has been plagued with problems for decades. It was deemed easier to demolish than to rehab.

[401don]

It's amazing how a building can look modern but be ready for the wrecking ball because it's poorly constructed and almost 50 years old. On the other hand you have the Ren Cen, still Detroit's "modern" skyscraper, which is the same age.

[Danny]

I know we talk about valuing the built environment and that people once viewed Victorian homes with the same disdain we hold for buildings like this...but I feel like this place was a bona fide dump.

I wouldn't miss Manoogian Hall either, except for the "ethnic" rooms inside:
https://foursquare.com/v/alex-manoog...64a520677129e3

I used to stay at Forest Apartments in 2003 to 2005 And I have issues with water leaking through the windows and through the kitchen walls.

[masterblaster]

"Within a few years after completion of construction, the façade of DeRoy Apartments began to leak at numerous locations into student living spaces. It was eventually determined that a defective chemical additive used during construction was deteriorating the modular brick panels which cover the building exterior. A settlement was reached with the manufacturer and repairs were made, but the problem of leaks has re-occurred as the building has aged."

https://housing.wayne.edu/about/masterplan

[1953]

Any word on plans for what will replace it on that spot?

[Honky Tonk]

Any word on plans for what will replace it on that spot?

Chuck-E-Cheese.

[hybridy]

Any word on plans for what will replace it on that spot?

grass, and maybe some trees

DeRoy will be removed in the summer of 2019 enabling an expansion of Keast Commons, the grassy recreation space used by residents of the surrounding five housing buildings which is immediately behind DeRoy. When completed, Keast Commons will stretch from the front of Chatsworth Apartments to Anthony Wayne Drive, with the western edge being the new apartment buildings on Anthony Wayne Drive that are across the street.

[K-slice]

After the Anthony Wayne Drive Apartments were finished this block just south of Kirby had a really nice, dense feel to it. I don't think it will remain this way after the demo unfortunately.

[Danny]

grass, and maybe some trees

YAY More parks and less development.

Way to go 'Monsters University!'

[1953]

Oh, man, that stinks.

Why doesn't Wayne State hire an urban planner or something?

1953

[WKL]

My son had a studio aprt. there when he was in Law School fro '11 ro '14. He was on the 12th floor which had just been redone. It's now in that pile of debris on the left side of the picture.

[rb336]

They had to do a retro-fit of Manoogian because the center of the building was settling faster than the sides.

I know we talk about valuing the built environment and that people once viewed Victorian homes with the same disdain we hold for buildings like this...but I feel like this place was a bona fide dump.

I wouldn't miss Manoogian Hall either, except for the "ethnic" rooms inside:
https://foursquare.com/v/alex-manoog...64a520677129e3