Last December, then-Mayor Mike Duggan, who had only a month left in office, gathered with other city officials and developers to announce grand plans to redevelop 28 acres of the southern half of the former Packard Plant on Detroit's east side.
Nearly four months later, the plan is dead, Kirk Pinho of Crain's Detroit Business reports.
Crain's reports:
The precise reason for the collapse of the deal between the city and the development team of Oren Goldenberg and Mark Bennett isn’t clear — but it again leaves the fate of the sprawling East Side industrial site up in the air.
Detroit Planning Director Alexa Bush sent a letter to the developers on Feb. 24, notifying them that the city was “unilaterally” terminating all negotiations. The letter does not specify a reason the city is choosing not to move forward with the $50 million-plus redevelopment proposal.
A spokesperson for Mayor Mary Sheffield tells Crain's the city “wants to take this opportunity to explore a broader range of redevelopment options for the site before moving forward with the proposed plan.”
The plan, unveiled in December, included:
- 42 “make/live” affordable housing units
- Detroit’s first indoor skate park
- MODEM – the Museum of Detroit Electronic Music
- Creative community programming areas
- More than two acres of indoor/outdoor public space and recreation areas
- A nearly 400,000-square-foot new building that would house manufacturing, bringing 300 new full-time jobs
The plant, which was designed by Albert Kahn, closed in 1956. Over the years, the city razed much of the massive complex.
In a statement last December, Duggan said:
“Five years ago, the Packard Plant was still standing as Detroit’s most iconic ruin, continuing to drag down the surrounding neighborhood. It took an incredible amount of work to gain title to the property and tear down everything that could not be saved in hopes for a day like this."
“A challenging development like this takes people who think outside of the box to create something really special and that is what Mark and Oren have done here.” The developers, Packard Development Partners, is led by Mark Bennett and Oren Goldenberg."
Sheffield, who was mayor-elect at the time, issued a statement in December:
“For more than 60 years this site sat idle. Today, we declare that those days are over. The Packard Park will be a symbol of what is possible when Detroiters, public partners, and committed developers work together with imagination and purpose."
