48 Vacant Buildings Blight Downtown Detroit

DETROIT NEWS - Some four dozen big buildings in the heart of Detroit are languishing, vacant, because demand for commercial and office space has dropped and money to demolish or renovate them has dried up. These are among the most visible ghosts in a city of ghostly buildings - the harsh, physical evidence of a community that has lost 1 million people from its peak population of 1.8 million in the 1950s.

While there is no official ledger of empty buildings, The Detroit News identified 48 major structures with no outward signs of life in the Central Business District, which covers about 127 blocks. Others have one or two remaining tenants.

Vacancies downtown are only a small part of the story: According to the U.S. Postal Service, there are 62,000 uninhabited buildings and vacant lots throughout Detroit. Entire blocks of commercial and residential property are deserted.

MP: Be sure to check out the interactive map in the article, where you can click on each of the vacant buildings on the map to see photos.

Thanks to Russ Harris.

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