Petition to save the Lafayette Building

Whereas, the City of Detroit's Downtown Development Authority has submitted requests for proposals (RFPs) for the demolition of the historic Lafayette Building.

Whereas, the Lafayette Building has become an eyesore and something must be done about its appearance.

Whereas, the cost of cleaning up the building, removing graffiti, securing its cornice and securing it from trespass would be only a FRACTION of the cost of a total demolition.

Whereas, the City of Detroit has no plan to develop the site and would raze this landmark for nothing but another empty lot. (Other recent demolitions in Detroit in the sake of redevelopment have led to sites sitting empty for years, i.e. Hudson's site, Kerns Block, Monroe Block, Tuller Hotel, Hotel Statler, etc.)

Whereas, this 1924 building was designed by the famed architect C. Howard Crane, who also did the Fox and Fillmore theaters, is architecturally significant and unique, and is a key link between the city's past and its future and cannot be replaced.

Whereas, this building has been deemed eligible for historic designation on national, state and local levels. Designation would make the building and its development eligible for Michigan Historic Tax Credits as well as federal rehabilitation tax credits, making its redevelopment more financially viable.

Whereas, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has urged the City of Detroit to not destroy the Lafayette Building.

Whereas, nearby buildings of comparable age and design such as the Book-Cadillac Hotel (closed in 1984) and the Fort Shelby Hotel (closed as a hotel in 1973) had stood abandoned and deteriorated for several decades and were redevelop and praised as gems and symbols of hope and triumph in the City of Detroit and become tourist attractions. The Lafayette has been closed since only 1997.

Whereas, the building HAS generated redevelopment interest, even in its dilapidated state, and would certainly generate even more if cleaned up.

Whereas, only the honorable Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. of the City of Detroit has the authority to stop the DDA's plan to demolish the Lafayette Building.

Therefore, we the undersigned urge the honorable Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr. to stop the plan to raze this landmark and have the DDA use some of the money set aside for demolition to instead clean up the building, make it secure and marketable and serve as yet another key piece in the rebirth of the great .