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Detroit Ups Demolitions - 30,000 More to Go08-02-16 | News

Detroit Ups Demolitions - 30,000 More to Go
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan recently announced the demolition of the 10,000th structure in the city.

It took over four months (Oct. 12, 2009 to Feb. 24, 2010) for Detroit's Lafayette Building to be demolished. The city knew it had to ramp up the rate of demolitions after the blight program called for nearly 40,000 homes to be razed. Image: Wikipedia, public domain

Detroit has fast tracked home demolitions from 25 a week to about 150 a week under Mayor Mike Duggan's administration. Photo: Wikipedia, public domain

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan recently announced the demolition of the 10,000th structure in the city. All but 2% of the demolitions are homes; 25 commercial structures have also been flattened, and the city plans on demolishing 150 more commercial buildings this year.

The "blight program" began 2???(R)???AE? years ago after a survey revealed the monumental task of razing 40,000 homes. Before the mayor's tenure, Detroit demo crews averaged only 25 homes a week; the average now is 150 per week. About 8,000 more homes are expected to come down by the end of 2017.

The blight removal has so far been financed by more than a quarter-billion dollars from the U.S. Treasury Department and Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

The city exited Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy on December 11, 2014.

A 2015 report from Dynamo Metrics and Rock Ventures found that the value of homes within 500 feet of a demolition increased by 4.2 percent.

It's not all demolition. The city reports 1,400 renovated properties and more than 4,600 vacant side lots sold to neighbors.