Detroit begins demolition of blighted Packard car plant

By COREY WILLIAMS
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Demolition of the long-vacant Packard auto plant that for generations has been a symbol of urban blight in Detroit has begun. Crews on Thursday began tearing apart one of the massive structure’s crumbling exterior walls and ripping out old bricks and concrete along the upper floors. The work follows up on a plan by Mayor Mike Duggan to start razing parts of the plant complex, which Peruvian developer and owner Fernando Palazuelo failed to do after buying it in 2013. The Packard Automotive Co. built the plant in 1903, but by 1954, it had become obsolete and Packard car production was being done elsewhere.