Bye Bye Madison Lenox

[lelandpalmer]

Can anyone take some snaps of the demo work being done to the Madison-Lenox?

The Club section is already gone. I'm holding out hope that this is part of a renovation, but I think it will gone pretty soon.

[baldy]

So it's official? The Staler is coming down? Damn Illitch! Or was this city enforced? Is this for more Super Bowl parking? Seriously though, since you heard it's going to be razed, was there any mention of what would be going up?

I'll take some pictures on Saturday, weather permitting.

[Allan]

The Ilitches have not received HDC approval. This is going to be interesting....

Here is what Crain's Detroit had to say, although it's not much more than we already know.

Madison Lenox Hotel demolition starts, then halts

Razing of the Madison Lenox Hotel in downtown Detroit began Wednesday morning but halted after demolition of the low-level connecting structure between the two eight-story buildings.

Preservation Wayne and Friends of the Book Cadillac have been battling the city and Ilitch Holdings Inc., the building owner, to save the 100-year-old complex for redevelopment. Both groups were picketing the site Wednesday.

Frank Nemecek, communications director for Friends of the Book Cadillac, said the group

[Allan]

Olympia Entertainment has ordered Adamo Demoliton to continue the demo of the M-L, despite the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Cynthia Stevens. Police have removed the preservationists from in front of the building, who were standing in front of the machines to prevent them from further destroying the Madison. The Madison now has a large hole in the side. FOBC attorney Mike Mycowiak is contacting the judge.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4503294/detail.html

[RustTown]

If they (Olympia) are doing this in the defiance of the court they should be held in contempt and arrested!

This is illega! If they are going to do it, the least they could do is wait until they are legally obligated to tear it down. Sheesh.

Looks like Illitch is showing his age and greed knowing he won't be around too much longer.

[Allan]

They are defying the judge's orders to stop. I say that they should be required to rebuild it exactly as it once was. It has happened before...if only we could get it to happen in Detroit!

Not to mention all asbestos that is being released into the air, since proper abatement measures were not taken. There was testimony at the hearings on the buildings earlier this year that said that demolishing the buildings without proper asbestos remediation would be in violation of the Clean Air Act & NESHAPS regulations. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at on this. They have been informed as to the activities that are going on there.

I can see all sorts of lawsuits flying in Ilitch's direction. Honestly though, I've seen all this coming for some time. The HDC refused to approve their demolition request, and rather than going the legal route, it was just easier to demolish it illegally.

Here are some photos from Mikem over at detroityes. Hopefully he doesn't mind me posting them here.

[SNWEB]

Just got off the phone with my man Frank,

they just got the restraining order out to the site to show that it MUST stop, and the police verified, and Adamo can be arrested if they do any more demo.

Earlier preservationists got in front of the machinery to stop the demo, the police took em out.

====================

This is total BS from those Ilitch beotchs. They were denied the demo permit, and they all of a sudden did demolition.

I bet they did this so that the rest of the building will be unstable and thus they will convert it into a parking lot. They can afford the fines. They are just trying to make it so it isn't salvage-able

[Allan]

Unfortunately it looks too late...at least for the Madison. They've already pushed the bulldozers into it.

[Zissou]

Im shocked that this is happening. Can the city take the land away from him? Its bull that he is defying court orders and tearing it down. I hope the city will be able to take the property away from him and sell it to someone who will do something other than a parking lot with it.

[Allan]

The latest thinking is that maybe this is city ordered, and not Ilitch Holdings ordered. Who knows? I do know that the city has gone ahead and allowed people to demo buildings without the owner's consent before. This happened with the Hughes and Hatcher Building when it was demolished to build the 1001 Woodward parking garage. The owners of the building ended up taking the city to court and won a large settlement.

[Ramcharger]

I agree. I suspect Mayor Kilpatrick is behind this. He absolutely wanted that building gone before the All-Star game and time was running out.

[dnast]

Well, city council approval was "necessary" for the Statler to be demoed and they never even got a chance to vote on it, so I'm not surprised at this.

City leaders complain about the crime when they blatantly break laws for the whole public to see...

[Allan]

Apparently a demolition permit was issued early this morning. That demo permit is void since it was not approved by the HDC. But void or not, a permit is a permit...in Detroit anything goes, it appears.

Here is the official statement, which is full of bullcrap, as usual.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Demolition of 246 Madison Structure

May 18, 2005

On April 26, 2005, Inspector Dannie Shufford and Abdul M. Aquil, Assistant Chief Building Inspector conducted an inspection of 246 Madison.

Due to the severe deterioration of the structure, the inspectors were only able to reach the third floor of the nine-floor building. Their inspection revealed:

[baldy]

This is from the recent WDIV article:

Ilitch Holdings released a statement on Wednesday, saying, "The demolition that began today on the Madison-Lenox property was not ordered by Ilitch Holdings or any of its related businesses. We are currently working to obtain more information on this situation."

Looks like there could be some truth to the city ordering this........ Stay tuned for further developments because this will get ugly.

[SNWEB]

The city may have ordered it, but I'm sure Ilitch Holdings had a part, pushing them to do it. I mean com'n demo's in Detroit don't happen this fast, it was meant to be sneaky and private

[Allan]

Here are some more photos from today.

http://www.waitingforlunch.com/images/05-05-18/Desktop.html

[wolverine]

What a mess. Detroit becomes a bigger black hole. What an embarassment. Now who is going to rebuild there? NO ONE... NEVER AGAIN......... EVER.

At least in my lifetime.

[GRCentro]

I love the Lennox; what a gorgeous facade. It's a shame...

Was it really in so bad of shape that it couldn't be restored? Is it structurally unsafe because of neglect or because they've been knocking through walls?

[wolverine]

Apparently inspection work was done on Aprill 26th that said the building was in "eminent collapse" Well uh, then lets smash our demolition equipment into the "un-sound walls" and see if the building will fall on us. If that report holds true, then people's lives were put in serious danger, and the building would have called for extensive planning in its removal.

[Allan]

The funny thing is that they started demolishing the Madison from the bottom. Taking away the bottom supports of a 100 foot tall building is a bad idea. I'm just waiting for the whole top of the Madison to fall on one of the machines.

[detroitfan]

Mike Ilitch will be public enmeny #1 for preservation until the city grows a pair of balls and stops being his little lapdog. Until then anything he owns is subject to come down at his whim. He's also not the only one getting special favors look at the Fords and Ford Auditorium. William Clay wrote a nasty letter when Young was in office saying if the city tore it down they would never donate another cent to the city. Ever since then city refuses to tear down a building ironically that no one wants to preserve.

[SNWEB]

LOL not to mention what about that asbestos!

[RustTown]

Would someone be willing to get some photos I can use for skyscrapers.com of the demolition process? Unfortunately, we never got many photos of the building before it was demoed.

[wolverine]

I may get down there Thursday I have to work, but I can easily get out early and get down there. Although I wouldn't expect anything to happen since the hearing might take awhile.

[Zissou]

The funny thing is that they started demolishing the Madison from the bottom.  Taking away the bottom supports of a 100 foot tall building is a bad idea.  I'm just waiting for the whole top of the Madison to fall on one of the machines.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I dont think they were going to take down the towers in that fashion. They were just taking out the ballroom and dining space between the buildings which gave no structural support to the two towers. Its a shame though. This morning in a Free Press article it basically says that this order came from the city of Detroit. One of the demo people in the article says it didnt come from Kwame but my guess is that he ordered this. Ill be pleased when he is out of office.