DETROIT – Crews in Detroit began demolishing a dangerous building that had been on the verge of collapsing on the city’s west side.
Shawn Ley was first alerted to the issue a week ago, and the city immediately put it on the emergency demolition list.
The demolition occurred Wednesday (March 8) on Linwood and Blaine streets on the city’s west side.
The city has identified 300 dangerous commercial buildings in which they said they would use the $130 million American Rescue Plan to demolish those buildings. The bill would be handed to the owners who had abandoned their buildings.
Local 4 has been tracking Detroit’s most dangerous commercial buildings. The owner out of Sterling Heights had left his building on Linwood and Blaine streets to rot as it was in danger of collapsing onto the street, causing a real hazard in the neighborhood.
Curtis Johnson with Inner City Contracting had the demo job, and he told Local 4 that the ice and heavy snow from previous snow storms could have caused a significant collapse.
“God tells where the wind and snow to blow,” said Johnson. “With inclement weather, anything could have happened. That’s why I’m so glad we’re out here so fast to take care of this.”
The abandoned building was just one of Detroit’s most dangerous buildings the city had in its safety sites.
Drone 4 gave us an overhead look, and we learned that it’s not about the building, but the city is embarking on a massive campaign to demolish dangerous commercial buildings city-wide.
All 300 of the blighted commercial buildings have been identified as downright dangerous and are slated to be demolished.
“We need to make sure that these sites are safe for the community,” said Tim Palazzolo of the Detroit Demolition Department. “So, we’re here to take this construction down, so it doesn’t cause damage to anyone else.”
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