What is the best way to transition a residential area into an industrial use?

THE PREGNANT PAUSE

Layered Interim Reindustrialization

SIZE: 71 Acres  |  AGE: 15 / Recently Reborn   |  ZONING: Industrial  |  AVATAR: Ouroboros  |  SUPERPOWER: Size

 WILD Factor:  Large Open Space | Biodiversity | Quietness | Solitude

At 71 acres, this is the largest site contemplated.

Initially developed as densely packed housing for workers, this neighborhood-turned-landscape-turned-industrial-zone highlights the role that human interaction can play with the development of a ruderal condition.

The landscape of this district leveraged the benefits of delay and the lapse in industrial redevelopment that characterizes the area today. A city-driven redevelopment scheme cleared the area in 2004, leaving a contiguous and open series of blocks. After a long wait, the area was redeveloped into manufacturing and logistics facilities, with newest facility opening in October 2018.

A unique precursor to this interim flourishing of wilderness was the relatively uniform way that demolition occurred. The result is a more even substrate, which contributed a degree of subtle continuity. This is different from other lower density neighborhoods in Detroit, where demolition has occurred by a mosaic of contractors and at many different moments in time.

This place brought together a palette of ruderal plants present in neighborhoods across Detroit. Only a few small reminders of gardens and lawns past remained on site—tiny flourishes paying memorial to the people and families once of this place. What was notable here was not the behavior of the landscape, but rather the scale and extent of the landscape as a collection. It is quite rare to traverse a multi-block area in Detroit with not a single unit of housing in sight.

The impact and extent of mowing, over time, defined the theatrics of this landscape. The patchwork experience reflected a range of conditions that arose in direct reaction to maintenance, rather than in reaction to any mineral changes to the subsurface. The landscape was layered as a result, with strong linear elements arising from uninterrupted alleys, sidewalks and curbs. Fifteen years of delayed industrial expansion provided ample runway for woody growth. The layering, woody accumulation, and collection occurring along these linear elements created a dense backdrop and thick canopy of ailanthus, grape, and siberian elm. The increasing length of the urban grid as one travels south within the site only served to enhance the theatrics of this accumulative act.

Maintenance and illicit acts contributed equally to the character of this district. Although they were not successful, Jersey Barriers on site offered testament to the need for dumping prevention. The landscape offered very few moments of feeling held or contained, exasperating the pedestrian sense of isolation and expansive scale of this former neighborhood.

The greatest question of change surrounding this location is of when and how other neighborhoods can be transitioned gracefully from their residential use to something more industrious. Is there a more beneficial way to stage these transitional landscapes, whether for purposes of climate, habitat, capital costs or aesthetics? Delay is never anticipated, but it is a through line of development in Detroit, whose economy is prone to global fluctuations and continues to be tied to the success of a single industry.

 The history of this district is tied to the Grand Trunk rail road bordering its northwestern edge. The area was built densely and rapidly, to house workers with ties to the nearby Dodge Brothers plant. In 1915, the area was not platted. By 1932, the neighborhood was almost entirely built out with closely spaced wood framed buildings. Presently, it is the largest industrial district in Detroit.

Following an economic decline in the 1970s, industrial downzoning of the district permitted such uses as junkyards and repair shops to enter the neighborhood. By the 1990s, the Mayor’s office had identified this neighborhood as having more children and people living in poverty than any part of the City, and as having a greater percentage of violent juvenile offenses than the City as a whole.

The neighborhood was a Slovakian enclave before it was cleared to make space for an industrial park. In 2004, a new industrial facility was built on site. New construction was accompanied by a $15M investment by the city to clear the area of houses and attract other industrial tenants. In 2016 a second, 32-acre facility opened after less than a year of construction, leaving behind the jersey barriers. A third facility opened in Autumn 2018.