State intervenes to stop demolition of Mellus building

metromode, 1/14/2010

In case you haven't noticed, the Mellus Newspaper building in downtown Lincoln Park is still standing. Give credit to the state of Michigan for making that happen.

The state's Historic Preservation Office put a hold on the city's plans to raze the building because the Mellus is on the National Register of Historic Places and the city failed to notify the state of its demolition plans. Now a group of local historic preservationists and city staff are making arguments for preserving or leveling the building to the state. Think of the two sides as attorneys and the state as the judge of the Mellus' future.

The owner of a medical services business in Detroit has made an offer to the city's Downtown Development Authority to purchase the building and an adjacent one so he can turn them into the new home for his business. That would mean a couple dozen more jobs in downtown Lincoln Park, but the city's DDA turned him down in favor of leveling the building, without a plan or offers to build anything on the vacant lot.

The 1940s-era building at 1661 Fort St. served as the home to Lincoln Park's local newspaper, then owned by William Mellus, for generations. The building was vacant for several years before the city's DDA purchased it for $175,000 in 2005.

Some city officials call the building a blight. The Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance argues that saving it and the adjacent Pollak (named after Pollak Jewelers) building are an important step toward preserving downtown Lincoln Park's heritage. The Mellus still has its original porcelain enameled Moderne commercial building exterior, while the Pollak Building retains its terrazzo entrance sidewalk.

Source: Leslie Lynch-Wilson, president of the Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance
Writer: Jon Zemke

Government , Historic Preservation , Historic Sites , Redevelopment , Sustainability , Wayne County