'Gutless' to demolish train depot, owners say

[begingri]

BY JOHN GALLAGHER

DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Matthew Moroun, son of Michigan Central Station owner Manuel [[Matty) Moroun, said Friday it would be "gutless" for the family to demolish the depot, a landmark that has become a symbol of Detroit abandonment.

"Some folks want us to tear it down. I see their point," Matthew Moroun told Free Press editors and writers. Then he added, "The depot is kind of a magical place. And what my family and I have decided is that to tear it down right now, we think, would be gutless, so we're going to put some real money into it to preserve it."

The work he outlined would include a new roof, making window openings watertight, removing asbestos and cleaning up debris.


Continued at: http://www.freep.com/article/2011042...-Station-depot

[mikefmich]

I would LOVE to see this happen. But from the Moroun's I'll believe it when I see it.

[jtf1972]

Make the deal that a second Ambassador span will be considered & voted upon after the complete restoration of MCS.

[Gsgeorge]

A ploy so they can get their bridge?

[SWMAP]

Gutless is such a funny word to use. Gutless on the face of what?

[Vox]

And here I thought someone had a new name for Manny.

[Brian1979]

And what exactly would they use the building for? My guess is it would still be vacant. I don't see any purpose in keeping MCS standing, it should of been demolished 10 years ago.

[65memories]

The MCS is already "gutless."

[BrushStart]

It would help if they actually followed through on ANYTHING they say they're going to do. EVER. Until that day comes, I'm going to assume that any and all of their claims about MCS and everything else are simply pretext for: OUR BRIDGE, OUR BRIDGE, OUR BRIDGE!

[Lowell]

The MCS is already "gutless."

...or gutted. What has been gutless is their decades of scoff-law blighting of Corktown and allowing an architectural gem to be destroyed by neglect and failing to secure it.

Now that they are belatedly getting a clue that PR may be necessary if they hope to have a chance to keep their monopoly they are dumping money into hot air ads and pronouncements instead of just compliant politicians pockets. This family should be mimicked for a TV comedy. They are seemingly shameless.

[Richard]

So I was looking at buying a large piece of property that was in dire need of rehabilitation,this property was in need of many historic replacement windows.

As I have been involved in historic preservation and ways to do it cost effective I needed to come up with a plan so as not to spend millions on windows alone,so I researched a few large derelict multi story buildings in Detroit that also were in need of historic correct replacement windows on a large scale,as the property that I was looking at had a large amount of sqft the goal was to do what Detroit does best and that would be to have a assembly line of such with the property owners combining funds to make this possible.

It would have saved millions in window replacements,it would have provided local jobs and most of all it would have changed the look of several multi story buildings and retained the historic aspect.

That was the plan and I had not a hesitation in gaining support for it from the other property owners. Unfortunately until Lansing makes a decision on where it is going with the whole brown-field credit and the city of Detroit can figure out that an empowerment zone is a targeted area for a bigger picture, and not a specific address,my part which was the implementation of the whole thing is on hold.

The first announcement was made a few weeks back that entailed replacement windows and roof,the announcement now words weather sealing the window openings.

When it comes to historic buildings you have to have a lot of guts especially when you have 20% of a city wanting to demo anything past 10 years old and another 30% that really does not care what happens either way.

There are many positive people doing many positive things in so many ways because they care about Detroit sadly most that is heard about is the negative.

So IMHO if I approach somebody that owns an historic property with a solution that would benefit not only the preservation of the property for future generations but save a bunch of money in the process and that property owner says I would be interested in that,then I have to believe that person or company actually does care about what that ugly old building does in fact represent past present and future.

[East Detroit]

Tear that schitt down.

[Richard]

Tear that schitt down.

You be in that 20% lol

[JohnnyFreddy]

And what exactly would they use the building for? My guess is it would still be vacant. I don't see any purpose in keeping MCS standing, it should of been demolished 10 years ago.

You are sooo wrong. That building has many years left in it. If it was designated
an historic landmark, extra monies from the govt. could be used to restore it.
You'd be very surprised how overwhelming and quick these projects can be accomplished when the decisions have been made. A complete restoration is in order for that gem, and the sooner the better. THAT is where the new Detroit Police Department should go [[as once discussed)....plenty of room, and parking, unlike the crowed downtown location[[s) .....plus....the area surrounding MCS needs a little
boost in notice and activity, especially since the baseball stadium abandonment.
AND.....AND....too many beautiful old buildings from Detroit's glorious past, have
fallen to the wrecking ball. It's a damn shame to even think this could continue
to happen here in Detroit. Why line the pockets of the demolition companies,
which only stand for destruction. Promote instead, a company that would render
'state of the art' green, resource preserving energy and efficiency plans...and hurl
Detroit into the 21st century with both arms FINALLY.
Buy or imminent domain that building from the Murouns...period.

[Zacha341]

Hah! As in gutted! What is up Manny's sleeve he could have done something 10 years ago. Nonesense that he will now.......

The MCS is already "gutless."

[mikeg19]

It's gutless what that family has to done to that building and surrounding neighborhood......

[Rocko]

You are sooo wrong. That building has many years left in it. If it was designated
an historic landmark, extra monies from the govt. could be used to restore it.

I'm 100% in support for the restoration of the depot, or at least a proper and secure mothballing of the structure, however, your quote is untrue. MCS has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 and is also on the State of Michigan Historical Sites Register. Listing on the NR makes the structure eligible for the historic preservation tax credits and other grants, but it does not guarantee any funding. It also does not protect the building in any way. For it to have a level of protection, additional research and documentation would have to be completed for it to be listed as a National Historic Landmark, or it would have to designated a local historic district by the Historic Designation Advisory Board.

For those who might not be aware, Buffalo, NY has a huge hulking train station which is very parallel to MCS: Operated by the New York Central Railroad; a large depot consisting of passenger waiting areas, boarding trainsheds, and a railroad office tower attached; located a significance distance from the downtown area; abandoned in the first few decades of Amtrak; subsequently portions were demolished; and several owners; significant neglect and abandonment. The difference is that a non profit has purchased and been doing some serious work to the building for the past 10 years. They've really buttoned it up good. They have a lot of work to do, but their progress is remarkable. Check it out......a rebirth of MCS in this style is realistic and possible.....but Moron [[is there an A in there someplace?) will not let it be so. We'll see what his "investment in roof and windows" amounts to. I will be skeptical till he follows through.....

http://buffalocentralterminal.org/

[One Shot]

Can someone photoshop wallside windows in? Gonna look SHARP!

[English]

Hmph. I'll believe it when I see it.

[mcsdetroitfriend]

After having taken a train by that station I'll tell you your description is a little deceiving, yes they've done a good job cleaning it up but it doesn't look much better than mcs, infact the land around MCS looks much better and neater than the buffalo station... The buffalo station and the land around it looks very dangerous and over grown with metal shrubbery

I'm 100% in support for the restoration of the depot, or at least a proper and secure mothballing of the structure, however, your quote is untrue. MCS has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975 and is also on the State of Michigan Historical Sites Register. Listing on the NR makes the structure eligible for the historic preservation tax credits and other grants, but it does not guarantee any funding. It also does not protect the building in any way. For it to have a level of protection, additional research and documentation would have to be completed for it to be listed as a National Historic Landmark, or it would have to designated a local historic district by the Historic Designation Advisory Board.

For those who might not be aware, Buffalo, NY has a huge hulking train station which is very parallel to MCS: Operated by the New York Central Railroad; a large depot consisting of passenger waiting areas, boarding trainsheds, and a railroad office tower attached; located a significance distance from the downtown area; abandoned in the first few decades of Amtrak; subsequently portions were demolished; and several owners; significant neglect and abandonment. The difference is that a non profit has purchased and been doing some serious work to the building for the past 10 years. They've really buttoned it up good. They have a lot of work to do, but their progress is remarkable. Check it out......a rebirth of MCS in this style is realistic and possible.....but Moron [[is there an A in there someplace?) will not let it be so. We'll see what his "investment in roof and windows" amounts to. I will be skeptical till he follows through.....

http://buffalocentralterminal.org/

[Richard]

When he bought it ten years ago was it a complete structure and was Corktown a viable community? and how long does a boarded up structure remain boarded up in Detroit?

The train depot is an example of what is happening all over the city ,what about all of the other abandoned houses that are ruining other neighborhoods? There was an article portraying large property owners,most of those properties were derelict,what has been done with them sense? Has the city started to make the property owners accountable for their properties?

There is a set of standards for mothballing historic and non historic vacant properties set out by the national historic trust these guidelines are used and enforced by pretty much every other city in the states but not in Detroit,why?

A designation on the national trust is just that a designation stating that the property is recognized as a historic asset that played a part in the history on the national level and if qualify does receive grants, funds, recognition etc.

There is no, at no level of historic recognition that says a historic property cannot be demolished , it happens all of the time. It is the sole responsibility of the host city to enforce and protect these properties.

So where are the fed funds, if they were applied for, under the neighborhood stabilization act for Corktown and others?

Enterprise zones,Fed money, designed for a targeted area IE in this case MCS and Corktown so you not only fix the anchor MCS but the entire neighborhood, then the entire area becomes an asset instead of rehabilitating a building in the middle of a desert .

Detroit at this point picks a building as a zone ,that is it one address,which benefits only that property owner and does nothing to help the supporting neighborhood,what it does is give that one property owner tax exempt status as they do nothing to fix the building ,if it costs nothing to sit there and nobody is telling you to at least secure the building for the neighborhoods sake where is the incentive to fix it?

But it is easy to pick one subject property to direct anger at instead of looking at why it is where it is at.

[BrushStart]

Maroun and his family just don't get it. Their reputation in the eyes of the public is so tarnished that some last minute PR campaign is not going to change anything. It is perfect irony that all of Maroun's money cannot buy the one thing he now needs: a good reputation. You reap what you sow, and his reputation will haunt him like the misdeeds of Ebenezer Scrooge haunted him. It would take years of thankless giving, philanthropy, and positive community involvement for Maroun to achieve redemption. I dare say that it is probably too late for Maroun himself, but his children still have a chance to remove the tarnish from their family name... if only they understood.

If Maroun had been a person of kind character, instead of a political bully, a man of lies and deceit, completely selfish, and unreasonable in his ambitions, he would have his second bridge. His scorched earth, bare knuckles business practices have destroyed the trust people once might have had for a man of his success. It's why Canada won't work with him, why people despise him, call him a liar and a cheat, and ultimately why he will lose his empire to a public bridge. It is perfect karma, and I don't feel one bit bad. Matty sealed his own fate. Consider the difference in the public's reaction and support of Mike Ilitch if he desired to build an international bridge. While Ilitch is self-motivated and a notoriously shrewd businessman, he gives back, and people generally trust he'll do what he says. On the other hand, nobody trusts or believes Matty Maroun, and his recent TV ads only dig his grave deeper.

[Jimaz]

Google Streetview of Buffalo Central Terminal

[SWMAP]

I think motion has owned the MCS for about 20 years. When he bought it, it had windows.

[Swimmaven]

I used to take the train from that station in the 70's. I loved walking down the ramp to board the train to Battle Creek. I could feel the ghosts of the soldiers gathering there to go to WW2. It was a magnificent space.

I think, unfortunately, it is beyond restoration.