Steve Neavling
The former Grosse Pointe Park Department of Public Works building is being demolished on property partially located in Detroit.
The city of Detroit has given permission to a Grosse Pointe Park nonprofit to resume demolition of an abandoned building along a historic stretch of land.
Detroit filed a lawsuit against the Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation last month after it began razing the former Grosse Pointe Park Department of Public Works building without a demolition permit.
The building, which is partially located in Detroit and Grosse Pointe at the corner of East Jefferson Avenue and Alter Road, is being demolished to make way for the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Center for the Performing Arts.
In the lawsuit, the city alleges the nonprofit is moving forward with plans to construct the center without getting permission from the Detroit Historic District Commission (HDC) to build on the Jefferson-Chalmers Historic Business District.
City officials authorized the demolition last week after the nonprofit “provided an engineering report showing that the structure remaining as it is poses a hazard and needs to come down,” said David Bell, director of the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department.
The authorization, however, does not mean the Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation can begin building the performing arts center. The nonprofit needs approval from the HDC, which has not taken up the issue.
Without permission from the commission, it’s illegal to modify the land because it’s designated as historic.
Under the nonprofit’s plan, the group would build the performing arts center and an adjacent art gallery, with a parking lot and loading dock on Detroit’s historic land.
Raymond Cekauskas Architecture LLC/Smith Group
A rendering of the proposed A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Center for the Performing Arts along the Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park border.
The land is now bounded by a chain-link fence and blue tarp. Affixed to the fence is a rendering of the art center and gallery, with the words, “Opening: Fall 2025.”
Developed largely in the early 1900s, the commercial strip on Jefferson is one of the few remaining early 20th-century neighborhood commercial districts and contains architecturally significant buildings. It has been targeted for revitalization and is the site of the popular Jazz on Jefferson Festival. The district is surrounded by intact neighborhoods and includes more than 50 buildings, including two ballrooms, retail stores, banks, apartment buildings, and four churches.
Coming soon: Metro Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Detroit stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
