The US city of Detroit and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy celebrated the start of demolition of the first of three cement silo installations, making way for major redevelopment of miles of choice land along the riverfront. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was joined by government and business officials Tuesday as work began to demolish the former LaFarge Cement Co. silos south of the 1400 block of Atwater, just east of General Motors Corp’s headquarters at the Renaissance Center. Also to be razed are two other former cement transfer stations on either side of Chene Park farther east along the Detroit River.
Removing the silos also lets the city to move forward on plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of major portions of the east riverfront to include apartments, condominiums, retail shops and entertainment venues.
