The historic Park Avenue Building, designed by Albert Kahn and erected in 1922, is under threat of demolition by the City of Detroit.

The 12-story beaux-arts style building sits at the corner of Adams and Park on the north end of Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit.

The City of Detroit has submitted a court filing in Wayne County Circuit Court calling on Judge Robert Colombo Jr. to declare the Park Avenue Building a public danger and order an immediate demolition at the expense of the owner, Ralph Sachs. A hearing is scheduled for September 19, 2014. 

Ralph Sachs also owned the historic Charlevoix Hotel, which sat adjacent to the Park Avenue Building in gross neglect, before it was demolished in 2013.

After decades of careless demolition, Detroit cannot afford to lose any more of its beautiful high-rise buildings, especially one that helps encircle the historic Grand Circus Park.

The building next door, the former Hotel Briggs, was recently sold and is awaiting renovation. Several other buildings surrounding Grand Circus Park have undergone or are undergoing multi-million dollar renovations, including the Broderick, Whitney, and Kales buildings.

The demand for residential space in Downtown Detroit is high and the restoration of architecturally significant buildings is growing rapidly.

The City of Detroit should seize the property from Ralph Sachs, seek bids for its restoration, and preserve what is left of our cityscape.