Preservationists are now coming to the defense of the Albert Kahn-designed Park Avenue Building in Grand Circus Park after the city of Detroit filed a request this summer to force its immediate demolition. The Change.org petition was put together by Samantha Farr, the same activist who lobbied for the preservation of the State Savings Bank.
As it stands now the building, owned by Ralph Sachs, has suffered decades of decay and was once was neighbored by the Charlevoix Hotel, the now razed building that made headlines in recent years when its loose bricks precariously crashed to the street below.
The city is urging that Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo Jr. rule that the PAB, too, is a public danger and that Sachs, who also owned the Charlevoix, demolish it immediately. "After decades of careless demolition, Detroit cannot afford to lose any more of its beautiful high-rise buildings, especially one that helps encircle the historic Grand Circus Park," the petition reads.
What the petition does not mention is the perhaps obvious motivation behind the proposed demolition: to make way for the Arena District, the sprawling entertainment Ilitch Holdings complex to be home of the new Red Wings hockey arena.
—Serena Maria Daniels
· Do not demolish the Park Avenue Building [Change.org]
· Abandoned Park Avenue Building Suddenly Faces Demolition [Curbed Detroit]
· Hotel Charlevoix Says Goodbye, Park Ave Building Worrisome [Curbed Detroit]
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