Detroit by Drone: Historic Chinatown building faces demolition

• "It's an essential building to the area," resident Francis Grunow, chair of District Detroit's first neighborhood advisory council from 2014-19, tells Axios. "It has a real presence on Cass Avenue."

Driving the news: The city issued a demolition permit last month for 3143 Cass Ave., now owned by the Ilitch family's Olympia Development, Crain's reports.

• Grunow wrote to City Clerk Janice Winfrey last week asking for a historic designation request as a last-ditch effort to try and save the building from demolition.

What they're saying: "These are exactly the kinds of buildings that could contribute to the kind of place that the Ilitches say they want and they're destroying them," Grunow says. "The street wall, the brickwork — they don't make them like that anymore … We're waiting for them to create value on the ground and all they create is vacant lots."

• A spokesperson for Olympia Development tells Axios in a statement that it "continues working closely with the city to develop a broader plan for its real estate," including the recent approval of 10 new and historic developments in the District Detroit.

• A local demolition contractor has been awarded the demolition, Olympia said.

Zoom in: The back side of the structure is an old home that's had an exposed roof for years.

• The area used to be full of impressive homes and the occasional mansion, but they have since disappeared.

What's next: Grunow's interim designation would need support from City Council for the city to order a halt to the demolition.