Committee forwards CPA Building historic-district proposal after public hearing

The Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee on Thursday held a public hearing on a proposal to designate the Conductor's Protective Assurance (CPA) Building and immediately surrounding parcel in Corktown as a local historic district, then voted to forward the measure to formal with a recommendation to approve.

Lisa De Quiara, deputy director of the Historic Designation Advisory Board, told the committee the CPA Building is a six‑story neoclassical flatiron structure built in 1924 that historically served railroad workers and is eligible for National Register listing. "The proposed historic district consists of a single contributing building," she said, noting a nearby parcel with a later drive‑through canopy would be noncontributing.

Janice Chapman, director of the Historic Designation Advisory Board, described what local designation would do: "When a property receives historic district designation here in the City of Detroit by our ordinance, it essentially protects that historic structure," she said, adding the designation triggers exterior design review rather than interior regulation and can help ensure a building is incorporated into future redevelopment.

Members asked whether the designation would make redevelopment harder or increase property taxes. Ian Tomaszyk, historic planner, said local designation itself does not directly change a property's tax assessment and that the principal financial tools to help rehabilitation are state and federal historic tax credits. "The state program is a 25% dollar‑for‑dollar tax credit for qualified rehabilitations," Tomaszyk said. He added the federal program is a 20% credit that requires National Register listing and that projects often layer both incentives.

Public commenters, including preservation advocates and Corktown residents, urged protection of the building. Dan Austin, a Detroit preservationist, said protecting the CPA Building ‘‘is important for the city's history’’ and urged local protection even if national listing is not pursued. Blake Olmstead, president of the Corktown Historical Society, called the building "truly important" to the neighborhood's architectural and social fabric.

HDAB staff addressed concerns about archaeological remains and ownership of artifacts, saying discoveries on city land are treated as city property and that the board has agreements for artifact curation. They also noted that the National Register is honorific and that local ordinance designation is the primary municipal protection against demolition.

After questions and public comment, Member Santiago Romero moved to send the ordinance to formal with a recommendation to approve. The chair announced "hearing no objections, that action shall be taken," and the committee forwarded the CPA Building Historic District ordinance to formal for final council consideration.

The committee will return the item to formal city council as the next procedural step.