Preservation ONLINE:Hotel Huggers To Meet in Detroit
Story by Margaret Foster
More than 200 people are expected to gather in freezing downtown Detroit on Wednesday night to show their support for the Madison-Lenox Hotel, whose owners want to tear it down for an 85-car parking lot.
Playing on the term "building huggers," several preservation groups have organized a "hug" on Jan. 28. The Madison, a seven-story hotel built in 1900, is connected via a dining room to the eight-story Lenox, built in 1903.
"The hug is not a protest," says Jim Turner, one of the event's organizers and one of Detroit's seven historic district commissioners. "It's an effort to show city officials that buildings still have value. We're showing our love for the city and for the efforts to save a unique part of the city."
Some city departments back owner Illitch Holdings' plan to destroy the hotel, which has been vacant since the early 1990s, perhaps as part of Detroit's effort to "clean up" downtown before the 2006 Super Bowl. In August 2002, the city's Downtown Development Authority promised to loan Illitch $700,000 toward demolition and another $340,000 later. Detroit's buildings and safety engineering department erroneously granted Illitch a demolition permit before the historic district commission could consider it.
"Even though [Illitch is] a private corporation, they still have to obey the ordinances and statutes of the city," Turner says. "The city departments have to obey those ordinances as well."
The city's historic district commission voted 7-0 on Jan. 15 to deny permission to demolish the Madison-Lennox because Illitch has not given any reason for the building's demolition. Illitch could appeal that decision, however.
"They have not provided any justification at all why the building should be demolished," says Turner, who serves on the commission. "They've had two and a half years to present a plan to the historic commission, and they've chosen not to present a plan."
Estimates for the renovation of the Madison-Lenox range from $3 million to $7 million, Turner says.
See Also: Detroit Begins Demolishing Madison-Lenox Hotel
EMPORIS Buildings: Madison-Lenox Hotel
Note: In a complete surprise move, the City of Detroit's buildings and safety engineering department ordered the Madison-Lenox demolished 5.18.05 despite a unanimous decision by the City Historic Perservation Committee to the contrary. Preservationists got a judge to grant a temporary restraining order but demolition crews kept working. In 2004, the National Trust included the Madison-Lenox Hotel in its annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Ilitch Holdings paved the hotel site for an 85-car parking lot.
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