I don't know what you mean by "scorch and burn" back in the '50s-'60s. Factories closed in Detroit then because of the Big 3 consolidating its power over the independents, cheaper labor down south for parts firms, they were aging multistory buildings, and there was little room to expand.
Companies that want factories go with single story structures. It's been like that for many decades. They also like big buffer zones between the building and the street. It's a lot easier to buy a few acres in Macomb Township or wherever and throw up a sheet metal shed than try to find some structurally stable parts of the Packard Plant and then renovate them.
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