$2.6M Demolition of Blighted Detroit Mammoth Building Begins

Demolition work has begun at the Mammoth Building in northwest Detroit, following 25 years of vacancy

The building, which sits at Greenfield Road & Grand River Avenue, opened in 1949 as a department store, serving the area for decades first as the Federal Department Store, later as the Kingsway Department Store, and finally as the Mammoth Department Store, which closed in 2000

Years of court challenges have held up demolition of the structure, but Detroit’s corporation counsel Conrad Mallett stated during a press conference yesterday that a judge on Friday denied a request to delay demolition, leading to this week’s commencement of taking the building down

The city is fronting the $2.6 million price tag for demolition, but Mallett said the city will be suing the property’s owner for reimbursement of the demolition cost

Exact plans for future development at the site are unknown at this time