Demo of Lafayette Building causes giant sink hole on Lafayette...

[urbanoutdoors]

Just saw that a sink hole has formed right next to lafayette coney.... Great job COD.... That will cause headaches and more tax payer dollars...

[urbanoutdoors]

http://www.freep.com/article/2010052...KTisrigwzzA%3D

[iheartthed]

Now the pocket park really has a pocket!

[ghettopalmetto]

How do we know this sinkhole was the direct result of demolition of the Lafayette Building?

[Detroitnerd]

How do we know this sinkhole was the direct result of demolition of the Lafayette Building?

That's a fair question. I think some people here might be jumping the gun, hungry for more of that delicious Detroit irony.

[Detroitej72]

Any chance the old basement may have extended further out than the building? I thought that was the case at the old Moose Lodge over on Cass.

[DetroitSTAR]

Any chance the old basement may have extended further out than the building? I thought that was the case at the old Moose Lodge over on Cass.

The same goes for the Statler, and other buildings from that era.

[DetroitScooter]

File under: Old girl, still fighting back

[mikeg19]

I don't really see the connection between the demo and this sinkhole. Like it was already said, possibly the basement extended out farther than was expected or known, but i think an assessment needs to be made first.

[rjlj]

It is pretty clear from the photos that the street fell into the lafayette hole. When there is nothing to shore up the walls of the hole, this is what you get. But then again, I am not the expert Adamo is.

[DetroitHabitater]

looks like the whole sidewalk had basement under it, and that took out 1 lane from lafayette-and probably enough foundational damage to the other lane.

[Fnemecek]

How do we know this sinkhole was the direct result of demolition of the Lafayette Building?

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100520/...#ixzz0oTljDvGg

A break in a Detroit Water and Sewerage Department line located above a DTE Energy gas line, also damaged, caused the sinkhole, said water department spokesman George Ellenwood today.

It will take at least two weeks before the area will be reopened to drivers, Ellenwood said.

It appears that crews contracted to demolish the Lafayette Building accidentally damaged the lines, Ellenwood said.

[DetroitPetanque]

Coneydogs will be rationed!

[esp1986]

define irony.

[Sandhouse]

Before the Hudson's building was demolished, I remember they moved a lot of dirt in the 4-story-deep basement to keep Woodward from collapsing when the below-ground floors were removed, depriving the street of horizontal support.

[Gsgeorge]

Just stopped by the sinkhole. As it turns out, the basement of the Lafayette does NOT, reapeat NOT go under street level, and it was clearly visible that this was so when looking into the hole. One CoD engineer guessed it was a combination of the amount of water Adamo was using during demolition [[if you recall they were pumping it from right around here, and it was leaking and pooling up all over the place during the winter -- not good), plus the 50-year old old water mains that still exist under Lafayette not being able to handle the capacity. The retaining wall along Lafayette fell inwards into the demo area. So no sub-basements here, just shoddy demolition work plus shoddy outdated Detroit infrastructure...

They have actually already made a lot of progress on fixing the hole. Earthmovers have been pushing dirt into the hole, filling it and piling dirt along the retaining wall. Other machines are working quickly to remove the rest of the building materials that are still piled in the opposite corner. The road it blocked, traffic diverted, and another machine is removing the blacktop where the street has collapsed.

It was funny, I asked, "Who is paying for it"? Response: "Money is money. You'll pay for it, I'll pay for it, the city will pay for it, they [Adamo] will pay for it..."

NIce...

[Gistok]

I don't really see the connection between the demo and this sinkhole. Like it was already said, possibly the basement extended out farther than was expected or known, but i think an assessment needs to be made first.

LOL... yes I am sure that with no witnesses, that the demo group did absolutely nothing wrong... the demo company should be guilt free... and the street is to blame for it's own failings.... just like the blow torches bringing down the Statler could not possibly be at fault for the roof fire on the AAA Building next door.... if there are no witnesses, it cannot be so!!

Courts will attest to this!!

[wolverine]

Hmm, nice to see that area looking like a complete mess again.

[detroitbob]

I'll almost bet the water mains running under parts of Lafayette/Michigan Ave area are older than 50 years...something similar happened when the Comerica Tower was built at Woodward and Larned/Congress/Bates when the water department tapped into 125 year old mains and caused a underground failure which caused the steam vaults to blow like a huge pressure cooker up and down Congress cutting off steam to all the downtown buildings in the area in the middle of a zero degree cold snap shutting down office for almost a week. Part of Congress Street collapsed and had to be filled in and repaired. The outside temp on Congress between Griswold and Shelby was 90f as the steam came billowing up through manholes and cracks in the street.

[torbusto]

here's the link to my pics of the sink hole that are up on freep.com
http://tinyurl.com/2dunqcu

Lafayette Coney Island guys were out on the street just watching, with no water they were dead in the water

[Zacha341]

LOL! Lafayette Building Revenge!! I hear at night you can see a 1/4 sized transparent apparition of the building stalking the streets of downtown, rolling on it's side gasping in anguish at the other buildings headed for the same fate! [[melodramatic I know... )

File under: Old girl, still fighting back

[Zacha341]

I love the Godzilla. LOL!

Coneydogs will be rationed!

[bullridr31]

Before the Hudson's building was demolished, I remember they moved a lot of dirt in the 4-story-deep basement to keep Woodward from collapsing when the below-ground floors were removed, depriving the street of horizontal support.

The difference between the two companies both responsible for taking down buildings in Detroit, the company that was responsible for the Hudson's building was well aware of taking the building down in the most safe way possible, not only in terms of people, but also to the infrastructure of the city. In contrast, the demolition of the Lafayette building did not appear to have safety at the forefront of the project, and as a result, the company/city are paying for it.

[Detroitnerd]

So the system worked:

1) Instead of an ugly eyesore of a building next to the Book-Cadillac, we have an attractive sinkhole.

2) The demolition was good for business. The street was pretty much closed off and some of the oldest eateries in Detroit had to shut their doors.

3) Thanks to not taking rash action to knock down a building, but by planning properly, this massive cleanup will cost the city much more in the end.

Win-win!

[ghettopalmetto]

You left-out the all-important #4: entangle the City in an expensive and needless lawsuit. To say nothing of losing the good graces of the City's preferred historic demolition contractor.