Restore, Demolish, or Replace?

[Amanda Ruiz]

With Tiger Stadium being torn down after failed preservation efforts and the abandoned Central Station becoming urban decay, questions come to mind about how to restore or destroy the city. What structures do we keep, which ones do we tear down and what do we build in it's place?

[Terese Acou]

Good topic. There's lots of people out there torn about the tear-down of Tiger Stadium (myself included). I found an article on Model D that shows just how much Detroiters loved that place and some of the controversy that has come with it.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/tigerstadium15308.aspx

[ECedo]

Tiger stadium total demolition isn't a done deal. Check out City Councils actions yesterday (City Council breaths life into Tiger Stadium)

[Naim]

I'd really like it if the Book Tower (1265 Washington Boulevard) was able to be kept. It's a beautiful building and if the Book Building was able to be saved, why not try for the tower too? I've heard possible issues are that the floors aren't high enough to run modern utilities, but where there's a will there's a way...

[ECedo]

Naim...unfortunately many of the old buildings have floorplates that make their redevelopment too expensive and as much as we all love historic buildings the market still determines feasibility.

[Naim]

Oh, certainly. I don't know if any studies have been done recently on that building to determine what the cost would be, but I'm sure it would be considerable. So, while I don't expect it, it still doesn't change the fact that I love that building and would be happy if they could.

[Ramon Duque]

I would love if field and baseball diamond was preserved so that different youth leagues could come and play there. Everyone in Detroit loves that stadium and I think being able to have adults and kids go there and share in the history and spirit of the field would be a very popular idea.

[Nicole Tompkins]

I think there are plenty of other vacant properties with less sentimental and more fiscal value that could be focused on first. The first goal, in my opinion, has always been get people to MOVE BACK to the city. Deal with residential issues-- make the downtown area more pleasant and livable. This has to start with local action and getting people who are already living in the city involved. Regional planning is key. City and Suburbs need to be in communication and work together to achieve what is best for current residents and future residents and new jobs.

[Lukas]

Detroit has 36,000 vacant and abandoned buildings. This may sound crazy but wouldn't it be great to just demolish 20 or even 50 blocks of that and create a park more impressive than Central Park in NYC? Leaving the most impressive historical structures to serve like the Met does for Central Park in NYC, or a central library, etc? Maybe that building that I've attached a photo of can act as one of those things and be part of this giant park.
You create something like that and people want to be near it, be in it. It would revitalize the part of the downtown that it's in, create tourism, development would go up around it. Besides everyone likes sunshine in a beautiful park over abandoned buildings, weeds and broken concrete.

[Sylvia Hubbard]

Detroiters have always had a problem with change/

Perservation can be done with certain structures, but only if it's given so much time to perserve by a group - or some one who wants to be responsible.

If no one steps up to the plate then we should put in down and stop beating a dead horse.

I feel people will step up when they really care about something.

If they don't, it (the building) should not be up to the tax payers, nor the city and residents in order to upkeep the structure, rodent problem, or weed takeover.

I'll love this city until the meat falls off my bones but sometimes we need to let go and allow change to step in and make us better.