Detroit council: Demolish train depot on Moroun's dime

Detroit --The Michigan Central Depot, the haunting symbol of Detroit's storied past and recent failures, may finally be erased from the skyline.

Twenty-one years after the last train left the station, the City Council on Tuesday moved to demolish the building that welcomed thousands to Detroit and force billionaire owner Manuel "Matty" Moroun to pay the tab.

Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. wants to use $3.6 million in federal stimulus money to level the eyesore, but council members say that money is better spent elsewhere. They passed a resolution calling for an emergency demolition and recouping costs from Moroun. City lawyers will advise the council of the next step on April 28.

"We can't wait any longer," said Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins, who sponsored the resolution.

Dan Stamper, spokesman for 81-year-old Moroun, who also owns the Ambassador Bridge, agrees "something" must be done about the 500,000-square-foot, Beaux-Arts style building that opened in 1913.

"We agree with the city that it is viewed from everywhere, and it does indicate decay in Detroit," Stamper said. "We have to do something about it -- whether it is tear it down, or tear part down, or just renovate."

When the 18-story station was built, by the same architects who designed Grand Central Station in New York City, it was the tallest train station in the world. Today, it has been extensively stripped by scavengers, tagged by graffiti artists and featured in films, including "Transformers" and "The Island."

"No one will ever build anything that big with that type of architecture again," said Karen Nagher, executive director of Preservation Wayne, Detroit's oldest and largest architectural preservation organization.

Even those who generally advocate keeping historical buildings have mixed opinions on saving the depot, she said.

"There are even some preservationists that think it's outlived its usefulness," she said. "It could be daunting to be restored. Myself, I've said it could be used somehow."

In recent years, agents for Moroun have bragged the building, seated near Tiger Stadium in Corktown, is still structurally sound. A few years ago, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick proposed using the fenced-off compound as the city's new criminal justice facility.

But like similar plans pitched by Moroun and others -- converting the monolith into a hotel, casino, lofts, and mall -- it went nowhere.

In a rare interview last year, Moroun told The Detroit News he's embarrassed by the building, which he bought in the 1990s for back taxes after Amtrak discontinued rail service. "I can't redevelop it. Who would want to go in there?"

Now, Stamper said another group of investors -- whom he wouldn't identify -- recently expressed interest in the property.

Despite the debate, Cockrel spokesman Daniel Cherrin said the mayor is moving forward with plans to demolish the building with federal stimulus money. Detroit demolishes thousands of buildings each year by declaring them nuisances, a legal process that involves a public hearing and testimony from safety inspectors.

Cherrin didn't have a timetable, but said stimulus rules require projects to be completed within 18 months.

"This would happen very soon," he said.

That isn't quick enough for Collins, who said she wants the building "down now." She suggested Cockrel could use the demolition money to build homes or "improve the quality of life for Detroit citizens."

"It should not go to a billionaire," she said.

Council President Monica Conyers agreed, saying the depot "should've been down years ago." The resolution passed on a voice vote, with Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel dissenting. Councilwoman Brenda Jones, who remains hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism, was absent.

But razing the depot may not be easy or swift as council members want. In years past, on projects ranging from Tiger Stadium and the old J.L. Hudson Co.'s flagship store, demolitions have been bogged down by politics, inertia and court challenges for years.

Stamper, the spokesman for Moroun, warned the building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places could complicate demolitions. It was placed on it in 1975.

Dena Sanford, an architectural historian for the National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places, said the train station's listing could slow down the demolition process if federal funds were used but would have no impact if local dollars were used.

Buildings on the register are "routinely" demolished, but the plan must be reviewed by federal officials as to what impact it would have as well as the condition of the structure, she said.

djosar@detnews.com">djosar@detnews.com (313) 222-2073