The Packard Plant redevelopment will start construction this spring

One of the largest redevelopments in Detroit right now that’s moving forward is the Packard Plant. The undertaking will be massive (10-15 years), but tenants could be moving into the administration building by late 2018.

The admin building, which faces East Grand Boulevard, is currently undergoing asbestos abatement with the help of a $300,000 Wayne County loan from the Environmental Protection Agency. Once abatement is complete, construction will begin on renovating the 121,000-square-foot building. The administration building was the last in the complex to be vacated and its condition isn’t as bad as many of the other buildings.

Tenants for the admin building are lined up already, including Arte Express, the group who owns the Packard Plant and is running the redevelopment, Silveri Architects, Detroit Training Center (an organization that trains Detroiters for jobs), Environmental Consulting & Technology Inc., Testing Engineers & Consultants, Sterling Security, and Esto’s Garage.

The first floor will have a gallery and event space.

Also included in the renovation: the bridge over Grand Boulevard, which has been cleaned of graffitti and wrapped to protect the street from falling debris.

Speaking of debris, it you’ve driven near the site, you know that there’s quite a bit everywhere - from the building, from people illegally dumping garbage. Much has been cleaned up, but since it’s such a large area (millions of square feet) and it’s been happening for so long, there’s still a lot of clean up to be done.

The group was granted a 12 year freeze from City Council on taxes, meaning they will pay taxes on what the property is worth now, but they won’t see them increase as the renovations increase the value. They’ve also received approval for their Brownfield Plan.

More on the Packard Plant, including photos of the buildings in the cleanup process, can be found here. We look forward to seeing this historic redevelopment on Detroit’s east side.