Detroit Deconstructions Will Change Landscape and Remove Asbestos

For many, the city of Detroit Deconstructions, Michigan represents a bygone era during which the once great city was a leading metropolis and home to America’s auto industry. Nowadays when people think of Detroit they think of abandoned houses, poverty and crime. However, a new deconstruction and demolition initiative is seeking to change both the landscape and the image of Detroit. Currently, there are almost 80,00 abandoned buildings in Detroit. The Mayor’s Detroit Blight Removal Task Force and the Reclaim Detroit, a non-profit organization, are both looking to change all of this by demolishing many of the houses in the city that are uninhabitable and unusable for any real purpose. $520 million has been allocated to demolish old abandoned houses in Detroit, in hopes that such work will create jobs, make new land available to attract investors, and most importantly to help rejuvenate the city’s public and physical image. What is impressive about this initiative is both the vision, its breadth, and the health precautions being put into place in order to prevent lead and asbestos exposure following demolitions.

Why Demolition?

With the financial situation of Detroit being dire at best, many in the community are looking for an efficient way to both clean up the city and provide work to the unemployed. By all accounts the deconstruction of abandoned houses in Detroit is a needed process that will bring some good to this troubled city. A majority of abandoned homes in Detroit are completely uninhabitable due to extended exposure to the elements. In addition many of these houses have suffered from fire damage caused by squatters, and have also been used as illegal waste dumping grounds. These houses are unusable and create unsafe conditions in neighborhoods throughout the city. Many are owned by the city, which, because of a bankruptcy filing last year, badly needs to remove these poor investment properties from the city ledger. These houses will not be missed and demolition is not that expensive, costing between $8,000 to 10,000 per house.

Reclaim Detroit has started its on abandoned house demolishing program, and currently has plans to deconstruct and then demolish 15 abandoned houses, many of which were purchased from state auction. Ultimately Reclaim Detroit would like to see 10% of all abandoned homes demolished in the upcoming years. Through three years of research Reclaim Detroit discovered that the most cost-effective house deconstruction procedure would take three days to allow for the hollowing-out of a house and the removal of reusable wood flooring and fixtures. Furthermore, the wood that can be removed from these houses before demolition is in high demand. In fact the international demand for reclaimed materials from these old abandoned houses is high because there is a ton of rare old lumber in these homes that cannot be found anyplace else in the world. Following the destruction process the house would then be ready for demolition.

Taking the Proper Precautions During the Demolition Process

Reclaim Detroit is leading the charge in the demolition of blighted properties in Detroit. Most importantly, the non-profit is making sure to take all of the proper precautions in order to ensure that asbestos, lead and other dangerous substances are not released into the atmosphere during the demolition process. During the deconstruction process Reclaim Detroit takes special precautions to ensure that lead-containing products and asbestos-containing materials are properly removed before beginning demolition. In fact over 300 employees have been hired and trained in lead and asbestos abatement, which not only creates new jobs but also helps ensure that toxic substances are not released into the environment during construction.

The abandoned house deconstruction and demolition initiatives could be a game-changer for Detroit. As long as proper demolition and deconstruction processes are employed asbestos exposure can be prevented so that all of the positive effects of these initiatives can be felt by the citizens.

Interested in learning about asbestos abatement and other asbestos exposure related issues? Contact an asbestos exposure attorney today.