Rehab or remove? That question about a vacant downtown Detroit high-rise is a familiar saga, a sign of . . . well, depends what happens and who's commenting.
The 16-story Metropolitan Building housed jewelers and watchmakers decades ago. (Flickr photo/Rick McComber)
Louis Aguilar sets the scene in The Detroit News:
Bids are being accepted for removal of asbestos and hazardous materials in the city-owned Metropolitan Building, a 16-story site that has been tenantless for 36 years. It is at 33 John R between Broadway Street, near the Boll YMCA, and Woodward Avenue. . . .
While the request for proposals that became available this week says “demolition project” in its title, Detroit Economic Growth Corp. officials said it is the first step in determining the building’s fate.
A city official last spring said the 1925 Gothic Revival building is “on our radar,” for potential demolition, Aguilar writes.
That prospect alarms architecture buff Robert Laurie, who advocates preservation in a Detroit News guest column:
We need to be careful to preserve what makes downtown unique. The architectural wonders that line our streets need to be rescued. We can start with the Metropolitan building. . . .
If the city is desirous of a future filled with nothing but generic structures and parking lots, by all means, knock it down. Level it and charge people $10 per car to park during a Tigers game.
Hopefully, there are a few people out there with enough vision to see that, troubled though they may be, buildings like the Metropolitan deserve a little bit better.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a future version of the city that was still in possession of its architectural heritage? . . . I’d like to believe that if we’re going to try and save Detroit, we’ll hang on to some of the history that makes it so special.
