Wayne council approves emergency demolition of 35128 West Michigan Ave., 6-1 vote

The Wayne City Council voted 6-1 on June 9 to approve an emergency demolition of 35128 West Michigan Avenue, awarding a qualified contractor, Inner City Contractors of Detroit, an $89,000 contract to be paid from the general fund for building and engineering.

Council members and the city’s building official said the downtown, attached 1890-era structure poses an imminent danger to pedestrians and vehicles because of a failing facade and structural instability. "If the building caught on fire, they wouldn't even let people in it to put it out," the building official said, describing assessments by engineers and the fire marshal that led staff to recommend immediate removal.

The council packet listed three bids: $89,000 from Inner City Contractors, $85,000 from the McMullen/McMillan Group and $83,000 from Direct Construction Services. Several residents and commenters questioned why the city recommended the highest bid rather than the lowest. "We're going to lay out $89,000 for this. Do we have a guarantee that we're going to be recuperating that money?" resident Mr. Blackwell asked during public comment.

City staff said the recommended contractor was selected as the "lowest responsible bidder," citing specialized experience separating party walls and hand-demolition techniques that can protect adjoining buildings. The building official told council he had requested bids from 11 contractors, received three complete proposals and had prior experience working with the recommended firm in Detroit.

Staff also warned that the $89,000 figure excludes some foreseeable costs: gas and electrical disconnections, asbestos and hazardous-material removal, contaminated soil or groundwater mitigation, utility disconnect fees, permit costs and other unforeseen conditions. The packet notes that encountering a basement would add an extra charge of "$24 per truckyard" for compliant fill, and staff said the final tab could exceed $100,000.

On the process of recovering the expense, staff explained that demolition costs are placed on the property tax roll and the county treasurer handles collection and any tax-related enforcement; the city said Wayne County typically reimburses the municipality for such actions but acknowledged recovery is not guaranteed if the owner lacks funds.

Council discussion emphasized public-safety risks and downtown preservation. One member framed the decision as part of a broader effort to remove long-standing blight: "We are past the point of promises to fix it — 'someday' has expired," Councilman Brock said, urging action to protect residents and adjacent buildings.

The city called for utilities coordination before demolition; staff estimated demolition itself could take up to 14 days but that coordinating utility disconnections with DTE and Consumers Energy could take several weeks. The vote was recorded by roll call: Mayor Pro Tem Brock — yes; Councilman Dow — no; Councilwoman Was — yes; Councilman Corals — yes; Councilman Darwitch — yes; Councilwoman Lawrence — yes; Mayor Rey — yes. The motion carried 6-1.

Next steps: staff said they will finalize a contract acceptable to the city and the vendor and coordinate utilities and permitting prior to starting demolition. The council did not set a separate follow-up hearing on reimbursement or a detailed procurement-after-action report at this meeting.