Hi, I have been long intrigued by this building in Woodbridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3486...7i16384!8i8192

Does anybody know the history/original purpose of this building?

Maybe 5 years ago somebody boarded it up and it looked like it might be redeveloped, but it still vacant and substantially decayed.

Were any redevelopment plans ever publicized for this building? What is your suggestion of what this building could become if some entity invested in it?

*****************************************

Also, the Downtown Library has long been an overlooked building in downtown, even before it was recently closed for about a year due to significant water damage.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sk...!4d-83.0466269

The building is surrounded by significant downtown attractions and current construction projects - Punchbowl Social, the Belt Alley, Shinola Hotel, New Hudsons Development, Compuware Building Expansion, new Element Hotel, etc. However, it seems to be an underutilized deadspace in middle of that buzzsaw of activity downtown.

What ideas do you have that would activate this building so that it would add to the downtown revival? I know that traditional libraries are on the decline due the rise of the internet and Kindle Fire. But I still believe this library could contribute to the vibrancy of downtown.

I posted this question in another internet forum. Most posters supported that it should remain a library at its core offering upgraded wifi service, more study tables, and longer hours of operation. Some other suggestions included making it a sort of community center for the downtown residential community, adding a coffee shop, makerspace activities, and establishing a lecture series about the large automotive history collection that is on the library's 2nd floor. What do you guys think?

Thanks