Detroit to begin demolishing portion of Packard Plant

Detroit will begin emergency demolition Thursday on a portion of the long-abandoned Packard Plant that has been deemed dangerous.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Demolition Director LaJuan Counts, and stakeholders are expected to kick off the demolition of the parcel at 6199 Concord. The structure is adjacent to the Display Group, and "creates an imminent danger to that building, its employees, and neighborhood residents," city officials said.

The teardown comes after the City Council in July approved nearly $1.7 million partial demolition and selected Michigan contractor Homrich Wrecking Inc., which has locations in Detroit and Carleton. It is being funded through federal pandemic resources from the American Rescue Plan Act and the contract is awarded through Aug. 1, 2023.

The 3.5 million square foot Packard Plant, vacant for decades, is owned by Fernando Palazuelo. In 2017, Palazuelo released a plan to redevelop the plant into a mixed-use development as part of a project that would cost $350 million and take up to 15 years to complete, but the project never materialized.

The demolition department in May completed a scope of work for the buildings Palazuelo owns on the former plant site. The assessment looked at the most unstable and dangerous parts of the buildings north of Grand Boulevard, city officials told The Detroit News.

In March, Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan ordered that Palazuelo, a Peruvian developer, to immediately raze the site and foot the bill after his attorney missed a March 24 trial date. The city seeks demolition because it considers the property a “public nuisance.”

In the default judgment, Sullivan said structures on the two 2-acre sites on Detroit's east side have become “dangerous” and significantly threaten “the public's health, safety and welfare.” He held Palazuelo “personally liable for the abatement of the public nuisance.”

Following the ruling, Palazuelo missed the court-ordered deadline April 21 to apply for a demolition permit with the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department. 

During his State of the City address in March, Duggan vowed the Packard Plant would be redeveloped while saving the front portion of the city-owned building along the south side of Grand for redevelopment.

srahal@detroitnews.com Twitter: @SarahRahal_