Demolition isn't always the solution

As a revitalization planner, I am always hesitant to recommend demolition of a property, because it's not really a solution, especially in a weak real estate market.  When you demolish a building, it's merely replaced with a vacant lot that can be even harder to redevelop.  

It cures the nuisance, but doesn't cure "disinvestment."  The cure to disinvestment is investment.

Big old buildings, even derelict ones, are still opportunities, while big empty lots are just empty and require even more money to redevelop.

Detroit Free Press photo.

The old Packard car manufacturing plant in Detroit has been vacant since 1959, longer than my entire life.  The latest owner's plans for redevelopment stalled, and he is now marketing the property for sale.

Detroit newspapers report ("Judge: Demolish Packard Plant 'immediately'; backup plan set up if owner fails," Detroit News; "Judge orders Packard Plant owner to demolish plant immediately," Detroit Free Press) registration required) that the city, tired of the inaction, just won a lawsuit calling for demolition.

While the city has "won" the battle, likely they lost the war because the property will remain vacant for many more decades.

La Friche arts center utilizes the former Seita Tobacco Factory.

By contrast, there are a number of amazing revitalization initiatives in places like Dublin, Helsinki (Cabelfactory), Toronto (Evergreen Works), and Marseille (La Friche), and in the US, such as the Bethlehem Steel Works in Allentown, Pennsylvania, or MassMOCA in North Adams, Massachusetts ("RANSITION DECADE OF DECISION, 1989-1999 SPRAGUE ELECTRIC >> MASS MOCA"), where large factory complexes have ended up being redeveloped as multi-function arts and culture complexes.  

And plenty of examples of manufacturing buildings being reused in every state in the US for new business development ventures, incubators, business and light industrial research parks, etc. 

Most of these buildings and campuses were equally derelict at one time.

This idea of reuse rather than demolition is why I proposed instead of a "boring" housing and retail redevelopment at the Walter Reed Hospital campus in Northwest DC, that the city should instead of saved the Walter Reed Hospital building, which was 1.5 million square feet, and use it to support a biotechnology graduate education, research and business development initiative ("Ordinary versus Extraordinary Planning around the rebuilding of the United Medical Center in Southeast Washington DC | Part Two: Creating a graduate health and biotechnology research initiative on the St. Elizabeths campus," 2018).

But it's hard to be patient, especially with a building that has sat empty for more than 60 years.

Photos: Andy Morrison, Detroit News.

But I can guarantee a large site like this, newly cleared, in a city with dozens of square miles that are already empty, will remain empty for decades more.