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Sunday's Detroit Free Press did a special section claiming the Packard Plant must go. They have also posted it online with a 6 minute video.

In the video has appearances by Jim Balfour (historian), John MacActhur (Packard Proving Grounds) and a former PMCC worker Helen Riley (my "aunt").

http://www.freep.com/article/20121202/NEWS01/312020186/Packard-Plant-Why-has-go

I have seen the video and you should too. However, I've not had the time to read the entire special section as I wanted to get this out there.

Best, Roger

Roger, thanks for posting. I guess I too feel at this point that I'd rather see it gone completely than continue to suffer the continuing images of decay and destruction.

Here is a link to an interactive aerial photo of the PMCC Plant:

http://www.freep.com/article/20121202/NEWS01/120814080/Interactive-aerial-photo-Packard-Plant-Decades-neglect

This might better illustrate the situation.

The notice posted in the last week or so of Detroit foreclosing for past due taxes should at least put an end to the squabbling. Wonder where they will get the money to tear it down though. Doesn't look like there is that much left to get enough money from salvage for a private company to take it on.

Isn't there some deep pocketed fellow trying to clear and turn a lot of the vacant Detroit property back into farmland or some such enterprise? Even that would be an improvement.

Yes, there is a guy (Hantz Farms) that wants to restart urban farming. But the Detroit City Council (aka: the Clowncil) has been putting up road block after road block.

In order to have a chance at success he needs to buy larger parcels of contiguous sites. He is looking at an area east and somewhat south of the Packard Plant. He is willing to: (1) pay the market rate for the sites (2) demo any existing vacant homes (cost - $10,000 each, something the city cannot afford) (3) pay back taxes and utilities of the PRIOR owners and (4) hire local workers.

But the Council and community organizers are VERY suspicious and talk about "plantation politics" and "sharecropping." You can imagine how that goes over with the locals. So they keep putting on more restrictions on the guy to the point where they only want him to grow "hardwoods." God only knows why they would not want him to plant "softwoods" such as Christmas trees that have a faster growth rate. Such is doing business in the City of Detroit.

To put things in perspective the City of Detroit has 40 square miles of now vacant land that was formerly occupied. The City also has a goal of tearing down 30,000 derelict homes - yes, that is correct 30,000 homes.

40 square miles is a lot of empty territory so makes the Packard plant puny by comparison.

Apparently the council has not yet come to terms with understanding Detroit will never (at least in my lifetime) be the manufacturing place it once was. Those plants and jobs are gone so time to move on and find another use and get some tax revenue instead of none. At least with farmland there is not much to be vandalized to become a money drag or a hazard. If some kind of manufacturing did want to come back, bushes or trees would be a lot easier to clear than other things.

Two weeks ago the Detroit Free Press had a special section of the newspaper devoted to the Packard Plan. Today they did a follow-up due to the overwhelming response they received from their readers.

The paper can only show you so much, but the online version offers more.

This is a link to the editorial in today's paper:
http://www.freep.com/article/20121216/COL33/312160184/Stephen-Henderson-sTART-AFRESH-AT-PACKARD-The-REN-CEN-WAS-ONCE-A-DREAM-TOO-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE


This link tells about a forthcoming video documentary regarding the Packard Plant. A 6 minute trailer is shown as well as links to several other videos:
http://www.freep.com/article/20121216/NEWS01/312160156/Free-Press-film-Packard-Plant-debut-early-2013

This link takes you to "Frequently Asked Questions" about the original article. Note the second question:
http://www.freep.com/article/20121216/NEWS01/312160154/Banksy-piece-s-fate-answers-other-Packard-Plant-questions


In this link you meet the poet that wrote about the Packard Plant in "Last Shift." This is the opening narration to the 6 minute video I mentioned above:
http://www.freep.com/article/20121216/COL17/312160158/Mark-Stryker-celebrated-poet-who-made-old-Packard-Plant-his-muse

Plans are already underway to have the videographer, Brian Kaufman, make a presentation during the 2013 PAC National Meet when you come to Detroit - Sunday, June 23 through Friday, June 28.

Hope to see you then.