Issue Focus: Building Rehab with Detroit Preservation Advocate

Detroit has its share of historic architecture–and more than its share of vacancy and blight.  Consequently, the debates over historic preservation efforts in Detroit’s recent history have been contentious, to say the least.  And the stories about preservation here often say less about the value of a particular piece of architecture than they do about the transparency with which our city government makes decisions, the urgency of the other challenges facing the city, the possibility of re-imagining our physical landscape, and the passion of Detroit’s advocates.

Today I’m sharing an interview with Francis Grunow, who has been long active in Detroit’s preservation circles, including participation with the Friends of the Book Cadillac and four years as the Executive Director of Preservation Wayne.  Francis has been involved in many of Detroit’s recent preservation battles, and in our interview, shares the lessons from a few.  We talked specifically in some depth about the contrasting experiences of the former Madison-Lenox Hotel, which was demolished, and the Book Cadillac Hotel, which has become, as Francis put it, the “crown jewel” of Detroit’s downtown hotels.

We also discussed the different tools that preservation advocates can use, and whether preservation fights remain isolated battles, or are slowly changing the understanding of preservation as a lens and tool for re-making the entire city.  Listen to the interview HERE.

This post is a part of our November series on historic preservation, building rehab, and the triple bottom line.  During week one, we provided an overview of the argument for historic preservation, and last week we shared an interview with preservation advocate Michael Allen, about the relationship between preservation and other urban challenges, and how the Missouri tax credit has enabled preservation is St. Louis.

Photo of the restored Book Cadillac building by Brandy Baker for the Detroit News.