DETROIT – Detroit has recently achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing efforts to demolish vacant buildings, marking a substantial step forward in the city’s urban development and safety initiatives.
Cadillac Middle School is finally coming down after being abandoned and a danger to neighbors on the city’s west side.
The smoke stack sits along I-96, and the Southfield Freeway was used when city yard waste was burned.
It is no longer in use, so the city demolition department is taking it down brick by brick as it sits close to the freeway. Officials say bringing it down all at once could have bricks flying onto I-96.
“We’re bringing it down by hand, so 50 feet off of the ground, so that will take us a couple of weeks,” said Director of Detroit Construction and Demolition Department LaJuan Counts. “Then the balance will be able to come back in with an excavator. It will be a machine that will be taking down the rest. So it will take probably another week or so.”
Count’s job is to improve Detroit one demolition at a time. Like also taking down the vacant Cadillac Middle School on Schoolcraft Road.
“It is a significant safety risk and a concern to anyone living in the neighborhood,” Counts said. “You got kids walking up and down the block, so anything can happen in these vacant buildings. That’s something we want to address as quickly as possible.”
Clearing away Cadillac Middle School was a welcome move for those who live near there.
“I’m glad they’re tearing it down,” said neighbor Max Hickson. “It wasn’t doing nothing but sitting there.”
There are a total of 300 buildings that will be demolished.
Read: Neighbors applaud demolition of former elementary school on Detroit’s west side
More: 2 dangerous buildings are finally coming down after being left in disrepair for years in Detroit