Another round of demolition at the infamous Packard Plant
(CBS DETROIT) - Detroit continues its work to remove blight in the city.
On Tuesday, the city started the demolition of the second major portion of Packard Automotive Plant.
"It shows our commitment to eliminating that blight across the city," said LaJuan Counts, Detroit's demolition director.
Crews started tearing down a section of the building on Grand Boulevard in the second round of demolition.
Last September, the city began an emergency demolition of the Concord side after a judge declared it a public nuisance.
"This property is the last portion that's owned by the city and so we are making sure our commitment is seen by taking out our portion or our responsibility to it," said Counts.
The demolition is the next step in what's been a long process. For years, the city and later a judge worked to get the owner to tear it down. The owner also ignored court orders to tear it down, Mayor Mike Duggan said during a press conference in September.
The city has begun the process of surveying the remainder of the plant and will seek bids from companies to demolition additional sections.
The hope is a portion of the site will be redeveloped while also preserving some of its history.
"We're definitely going to include neighbors in the process on what they will like to see. The green space, the commercial buildings, affordable housing, the things that we've already been doing in other areas in the city," said Joshua Green of the Department of Neighborhoods. "We definitely look forward to being able to involve our residents in and around this area in that process."
The demolition on Grand Blvd. is expected to be complete by March.
