When Detroit City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero discovered the imminent destruction of the two-story building at 3143 Cass Avenue, a relic of Detroit’s Chinese history, she did not stand idle. She immediately initiated an effort to delay the demolition, recognizing the building’s historical connection to a 20th-century enclave of businesses and residences that catered to the local Chinese community.
This move culminated in the council unanimously approving a one-month delay on the demolition last week. Meanwhile, the city’s historical advisory board was tasked to research whether the building could meet historical designation status, a circumstance that could have forestalled the demolition even further. Lending their voices to the cause, State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, among others, joined in the effort to save the building.
“For many Asian Americans in and around the city of Detroit, this building represents where many of their relatives first placed their roots,” Chang wrote in a letter to city officials on Wednesday. “Located in the center of what is historically known as Chinatown, this property began as a residence in 1883 and was eventually purchased by the Chinese Merchants Association in 1963.”
Yet, despite the consensus of the council and the outcry from the community, city officials proceeded to overrule this decision. They insisted the roofless, dilapidated building was a public threat, having been classified a “dangerous building” back in 2018. The owners, Olympia Development of Michigan, a branch of Ilitch Holdings Inc., pushed through with the demolition even as Santiago-Romero was exploring avenues to secure an official historical designation for the building.
In the wake of the demolition, American Citizens for Justice took a stand, staging a press conference on Monday morning amid the debris at the site. Their purpose? To garner support for a future where the parcel of land will “reflect its historic Chinatown’s past and serve the neighborhood.” The two-story building at 3143 Cass Ave. may have been torn down, but the anger and the determination it sparked are far from leveled. The city’s decision to overrule the City Council’s delay of the demolition has been met with mounting outrage, fueling a growing movement for heritage preservation and community-minded development in the heart of Detroit.
Built in 1883, this Cass Avenue edifice was an integral part of historic Chinatown, providing services to the local Chinese community. In 1963, it was purchased by the Chinese Merchants Association Hall (On Leong Tong) and became the heart of the recently displaced Chinese American community in Detroit.
Today, the former Chinatown lies adjacent to The District Detroit, a 50-block area on the downtown’s northern fringe that hosts the corporate headquarters of Little Caesars, Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, and the Fox Theatre. These facilities are either controlled or owned by entities linked to Ilitch Holdings, who according to a Detroit News analysis, own or control at least 60% of the properties in The District Detroit.
The razing of this historical building has not been in vain, however. It has spurred preservationists and members of the Asian American community to campaign for the historic designation of former Chinatown, determined to preserve and honor the remnants of their past. The question now is whether the authorities will heed this call and incorporate the rich tapestry of Detroit’s history into its development narrative, or if more chapters of its diverse past will fall to the wrecking ball.
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