Bye Bye Michigan Central Depot!!

[prenkert13]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...++charge+owner

well looks like no more eyesore landmark.. always know im getting close to downtown by this on the horizon!!

[tetsua]

I think we all knew this was coming, it's depressing non the less.

[ghettopalmetto]

Terrific. We all know damn well that Matty Maroun isn't going to pay a bill issued to him by the City of Detroit--not when the City trespasses on his property and demolishes one of his assets. Are they not anticipating a lawsuit? How does the Council of Geniuses propose to pay for this needless destruction, the legal fees, and the budget cuts that will be necessary?

With the number of buildings it demolishes, Detroit must be the wealthiest city on earth.

[Rocko]

Is there any kind of plan in place for the property afterwards?

Have they considered that a portion of the station structure sits beneath the roadbed of an active rail line? How are they going to demolish that, exactly? They can't stop trains from running in the tunnel exactly.....

Glad to see we've all thought this through...

[Bobl]

The Tobacco Road School of Detroit architecture preservation:

A Ignore for decades
B Bring dynamite, and a crane, blow it up, start all over again....
usually with a parking lot.
C Hope for another beautiful strip mall

[digitalvision]

There is a lot of public pressure from people who would never post on this forum to do this.

The entire council and the mayor is going to win a lot of points with the majority of the population with this move. Goodbye MCS.

I'm going to get flamed, but I'd rather see that go than the Lafayette, mainly because the MCS is all by itself without any context and it's actively hurting the property values of the surrounding area [[as I have been told by many realtors) and there is much better prospects for the Lafayette doing something with it's location than the MCS.

It's time to move forward. There's thousands of people who are really sick of seeing an empty hulk out their window every day.

[brandon48202]

It is likely that the cost of demolition will greatly exceed the market value of the property. Matty can choose to not pay th demo bill, in which case the city would obtain title to the property through property tax foreclosure. The city would then be able to sell the property.

This demo plan sounds a little half-baked.

[gravitymachine]

There's thousands of people who are really sick of seeing an empty hulk out their window every day.

exactly. though i don't mind looking at it so much as the people and shady activities it attracts to the area. if matty's holding company just bricked up all the entrances to the place, to actually keep people out, i'd be satisfied.

[ruxy17]

i wonder how many burnt-out abandoned homes $3.6 million dollars could raze? MCS may be an "eyesore," but the blighted residential buildings are eyesores AND dangerous.

This city council is so disgustingly out of touch with what the citizens need.

[dcmorrison12]

It's letter writing time, I just sent mine to the Mayor and Joann Watson.

[detourdetroit]

No more Michael Bay movies. No more Hollywood reasons to come to Corktown. This is a stupid, halfbacked decision.

[E hemingway]

This is all about political theater. City Council doesn't care about the the blight this is causing or doing its job. This is an election year and Council's members sense the voters anger toward them. They need to look like they're doing something remotely positive for the public, and sending a city demo crew over to take down the biggest eye sore in Michigan is the easiest way to do it without actually doing any real work. This is a desperation move.

Part of me wants to say this wont happen. It's going to cost a lot more than $3 million to tear that down. We're talking at least eight figures to level it. Plus, Maroun is a billionaire. Billionaires usually get what they want. I wouldn't be surprised if MCS continued on its current state until Maroun decides otherwise. He might have already made that decision. We'll know by what type of response, if any, his underlings make.

[DetroitHabitater]

Think they'll increase the size of Rosevelt park? It will be pretty odd though with a fenced rail line behind it. How many of those rails are active, 2?

[lilpup]

If Maroun wants to keep it he should slap a few mil into it to make it bare bones offices, then use it for low to no rent space for non-profit agencies. He'd still own the property, have a tax write-off for a money losing venture, and could still boot the occupants when some better use came along.

[rb336]

i wonder how many burnt-out abandoned homes $3.6 million dollars could raze? MCS may be an "eyesore," but the blighted residential buildings are eyesores AND dangerous.

absolutely correct. the trouble is, I doubt the city could get funding to do the homes, and there is no deep-pocket landlord from whom they could collect

[unclefrank]

Maroun is a true asshole. He has no right to harbor a nuisance, and the city has every right to condemn it. Besides, he is not allowing the place to be used for filming anyway. Just blow it up and make that shithead pay for it.

[E hemingway]

Here's the rub. In the Freep's story on its webpage:

"Moroun, a billionaire who owns the Ambassador Bridge and has plans to build a second bridge next to it, has 30 days to respond to the council’s resolution"

http://www.freep.com/article/2009040...n+owner+s+dime

I don't think MCS is going anywhere. Maroun is known for his legal team. Thirty days is more than enough time for his lawyers to come up with a variety of excuses to indefinitely postpone the demolition.

Also, notice what MonCon said:

"Conyers, who also opposes using federal stimulus money to tear it down, also said she would be willing to consider other options if Moroun “came up with some type of plan to make it viable,� like a shopping outlet."

Apparently city officials are starting to become at least a little sensitive to the voices of the preservation community. We should have four elections in a year every year.

[Lowell]

Great! We lose an architectural gem because a billionaire lets it fall into ruin.

[LeannaM]

Not a big surprise apparently.

But what's with the sudden flurry of demolitions and calls for demolition? I don't know if this building had any chance of being rehabbed, but it just seems strange that they want to demolish it now, with Lafayette on the line Downtown.

[Tigersfan]

A few years back, the Detroit News did a piece about the "Last Stationmaster," or something like that, about a squatter who lived in the MCS. Does anyone have a link to that article? It was an interesting, multi-day piece and I can't seem to find it on the detnews.com website.

Thanks!

[Rocko]

Catfish was his name, and that article was from the mid to late 90s. The depot has deteriorated significantly since that time.

>>>>formerly BusterWMU

[Gsgeorge]

I am sad to see that this demolition is being rushed through, but who are we kidding -- this has been coming for some time now. Maroun's negligence has allowed one of the great pieces of American train station architecture to fall to ruin. But the two sides are looking at this too "one way or the other". There seem to be only two options here -- demolish, or develop.

I for one think the building needs to go -- but not all of it. It is obvious that no developer is about to come in to fix this thing up, and Maroun certainly isn't going to -- he hardly puts a few thousand into securing the place & fixing the fence, let alone redevelop it. It would cost upwards of $200 million to redevelop the structure. Even without its 13-story office tower, the costs would stay around the same -- you would have to secure the lower levels, carefully dismantle the tower [[no easy feat) and then you would have a cavernous concourse & mezzanine for--what? A shopping complex? Basketball courts? I don't think so. Not to mention its distance from the CBD is a hinderance. There are not many options here.

I adore the MCS, and will be sad to see it go -- but I propose a reasonable solution that may help the residents in Corktown, look good for the city, and allow the preservationists some degree of consolation. Preserve the front facade wall, remove the windows and doors, and expand Roosevelt Park onto the land where the concourse & mezzanine once stood. This radical solution would give Roosevelt Park a similar appearance as the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, where towering baroque columns and a huge atrium dominate a pleasant public space with trees & gardens. Our MCS facade would not be nearly the size of San Francisco's jewel, but it would give the area a much better appearance and actually be an asset to the community. This is the key here -- would we rather have a gravel lot where an architectural gem once stood, or a sculpture, a monument of what once stood, and a beautiful public park where residents & visitors can relax and enjoy the green space and views of the city & bridge. A true asset for the Corktown neighborhood, and Detroit.

And let's be realistic -- it will cost way more than $3.5 million to demolish this hulking tank of a structure. So if we're heading into the $8-$15 million category, it is worth an extra $1-$5 million to preserve the facade & improve the park.

To get an idea of my solution, take a look at this picture of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco:

[Gistok]

No, we lose an "architectural gem" because Detroit's a dying city that can not support this kind of building.

I'm sure the standard retort will include Jacki O, Penn Station, and "but the potential!" as though "potential" pays the bills.

Actually New York's Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963 for Madison Square Gardens.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis rallied back in the 1980's to save the now grandly restored NYC Grand Central Station.

[Gistok]

.... and speaking of Pennsylvania Station... back in 1963 the New York Times commented on the ongoing demolition of Penn Station with... [[some have mentioned that Ada Louise Huxtable made this statement, but it has not been verified)...

"We will probably be remembered more for what we have destroyed than what we have saved".

Same is true for Detroit...

[ghettopalmetto]

Actually New York's Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963 for Madison Square Gardens.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis rallied back in the 1980's to save the now grandly restored NYC Grand Central Station.

In other words, Detroit can choose to be 45 years behind the times, or only 25 years behind.