Opposition to the demolition of a historically significant Chinatown building in Detroit is growing after Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration said Wednesday it was ignoring a last-minute city council resolution aimed at preserving the structure.
Rising Voices, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Asian Americans in Michigan, and state Sen. Stephanie Chang are the latest voices to call on Duggan to stop demolition at the two-story brick building at 3143 Cass Ave.. in the old Chinatown neighborhood.
In addition to serving as a hub for social, educational, recreational, and religious activities for Chinese Americans, the building was a community center for the American Citizens for Justice (ACJ), a group that formed in the wake of the death of Vincent Chin. Chin was a Chinese American who was killed in June 1982 by two autoworkers who allegedly blamed Asians for massive layoffs in the auto industry.
In the aftermath of Chin’s death, ACJ became a national model for the pan-Asian movement that worked with Black civil rights groups to advocate for social justice.
“The preservation of 3143 Cass is essential to recognizing not only the historical presence and contributions of Chinese Americans in the city of Detroit, but of the larger pan-Asian community as well,” Jasmine Rivera, co-executive director of Rising Voices, said Wednesday. “In its heyday, the building was a safe haven for the community and later on served as a center for Asian American civil rights activists whose work has had an enduring impact on the rest of the nation. We call on the city to work with the developers and community members to preserve and explore options to restore the building back to its original function of providing a nurturing gathering place for the local community.”
Chang, a Detroit Democrat who was the first Asian American woman to be elected to the Michigan Legislature, said the 140-year-old building is one of the final and most important remnants of Chinatown, and preserving it is a way to celebrate diversity.
“As one of the last standing buildings representing what used to be Detroit’s Chinatown, this building is a lot more than just a run-down building, but a home away from home for many,” Chang said Wednesday. “Although no longer functioning, it holds memories for many Asian Americans, both inside and outside the city. The destruction of this building will have a significant negative impact on this community and destroy what little remnants we have left of Detroit’s old Chinatown.”
Detroit Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero, who proposed the resolution Tuesday to delay demolition by at least a month, said she was disappointed with the Duggan’s administration's order to raze the building. Santiago-Romero's plan was to give city officials time to draft a report on the historic and cultural significance of the building in hopes of adding the building to the National Register of Historic Places.
While the designation won’t require the building to be preserved, it will make the building eligible for public grants and tax credits.
On Wednesday, David Bell, director of the Detroit Buildings, Safety, Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), said the city’s legal department determined the council resolution “has no legal force or effect and does not take precedent over the interests of public safety.” Bell urged the building’s owner, ODM Management, to “immediately” demolish the building. ODM Management is a company linked to the Ilitch family.
“This opinion was unexpected,” Santiago-Romero said. “In my meeting with Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department, Planning and Development Department, Historic District Commission, Historic Designation Advisory Board, Detroit City Planning Commission, and Olympia Development of Michigan earlier this week, we ended with a mutual understanding that there would be a pause on demolition to allow for HDAB to assess the property if we received City Council support. In fact, this would not be the first time the City has paused the demolition of a building due to probable historic significance, including one owned by ODM.”
Santiago-Romero said she plans to submit a memo to HDAB and the Legislative Policy Division of City Council “requesting an opinion of the resolution City Council passed [Tuesday] and to see if we can move forward in good faith.”
Duggan’s administration, which plans to demolish or redevelop about 100 vacant commercial buildings during the mayor’s third term, ordered ODM Management to demolish the building in May, saying it was dilapidated and dangerous. If the company fails to raze it, Duggan’s administration said the city would hire a company to demolish the building.
On Thursday morning, Duggan spokesman John Roach told Metro Times the plan is for ODM Management to tear down the building. He did not provide a timeline for demolition.
No demolition crews were spotted near the building Thursday morning.
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