Detroit City Council tries to save historic building slated for demolition
(CBS DETROIT) - Detroit City Council discussed ways to delay and review the scheduled demolition of 3143 Cass Avenue in the Cass Corridor.
There is only one problem: The building is scheduled to be torn down soon. City Council initially approved the demolition in 2018.
"I am shocked the request is coming now," said Dave Bell, the Director of Building Safety Engineering & Environmental Department with the city of Detroit.
Bell said City Council approved the demolition back in 2018 at the recommendation of his department and said the building has only gotten worse since then.
"Portions of the roof have collapsed, portions of the floors have collapsed, it needs to come down," Bell said.
Bell provided pictures of the inside of 3143 Cass Avenue, which showed the roof had collapsed, the floors had collapsed, and the images also showed major structural issues.
Bell said he is not against preserving history and said this building is a clear hazard to the public.
"I am all for preserving historic structures. In this particular situation, it is my opinion that this building needs to come down immediately versus waiting 30 days to do a study to see what we can do. I can't support that," he said.
At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, there was public comment and discussion among council members about delaying the demolition by 30 days so that it can be reviewed.
The Cass Corridor building is more than 140 years old and used to be part of Chinatown in Detroit.
Ilitch Holdings is the current owner of the building and agreed to tear the building down after being cited for safety concerns.
As far as saving the property, Bell said he believes it's too late for that.
"It will likely be torn down in the next seven days," he said.
