DETROIT – Workers removed a decades-old skybridge at Greenfield and Grand River on Sunday, marking the final phase of demolition for the long-vacant Mammoth Building on Detroit’s west side.
The demolition project represents one of Mayor Mike Duggan’s final initiatives to address vacant structures before leaving office.
“After today, nobody has any reason to come here and look at abandoned ruins because what you have now is beauty and re-birth,” Duggan said.
The Mammoth Building, which stood vacant for 25 years, has been a prominent symbol of blight at the intersection of Greenfield and Grand River.
The skybridge removal, accomplished using a crane, marks the completion of the site’s cleanup efforts.
City Council President Pro Tem James Tate envisions the intersection returning to its former status as a neighborhood hub.
“The fact that there was a skywalk from one retail space to another shows how important this neighborhood was,” Tate said. “But first, this had to happen.”
The demolition project follows yesterday’s start of demolition on an empty Southwest Detroit hospital, which will make way for a new soccer stadium.
John George of Blight Busters expressed optimism about the area’s future development.
“Moving forward, we are going to continue to bring people together and revitalize Detroit and create the city all of us deserve,” he said.
Duggan, acknowledging his approaching departure from office, expressed confidence in future development plans for the site.
“I suspect in the next year or so, the next mayor and council will be here with plans to redevelop the Mammoth site,” Duggan said, “and I’ll sit out with you in the audience and cheer for them.”