Preservation V. Parking: What To Expect At the HDC Hearing

Next week, on Wednesday August 14, the owner of the State Savings Bank will have to explain to the Historic District commission why he wants to tear down the building for parking. In terms of development moves, it seems that Andreas Apostolopoulos wants to be just like the owner of Little Caesars Pizza, Mike Ilitch, who has spent years trying to parking-lot-ify downtown Detroit. What will the HDC have to say about this? You may remember that they denied the demo of the Hotel Charlevoix , but later a judge granted that demo thanks to the fact that the building had been neglected for 28 years and was dangerous. It is expected to be replaced by a parking lot(the building is now gone). The bank building is in much better shape. Will the HDC be able to stop this demo?

The Free Press is reporting that the building is already on the city, state and federal registers of historic places, but that that the city designation would offer significant protection against demo. It's likely that Apostolopoulos would have to demonstrate financial hardship and try to sell the bank building for a year before the city's Historic District Commission would grant demo.

In the meantime, a petition continues to make the rounds, racking up supporters to preserve the building.

· State Savings Bank Owner Files Petition For Demo [Curbed Detroit]
· State Savings Bank owner proposes demolishing historic building [Freep]