Photos of the June 14 fire at the old McLouth Steel facility in Trenton (MI). The area has been under scrutiny by local municipalities for years due to its potential for a needed tax base. (Courtesy Detroit News and Ile Camera Newspapers)
Fate finally overcoming a major local eyesore? Yes and no.
When Jenni first alerted me to a fire at the old McLouth Steel plant in Trenton, I was led to believe that the entire complex was in flames. It turns out that it was just a retention pond on the side of the property, far enough from the ugly buildings that they were not in harm's way.
Part of me actually hoped for total destruction. The plant has sat vacant for years, and various city officials have been clamoring for its destruction so they can turn the property into something that will yield tax money; namely, mixed-use development.
The owner of the Ambassador Bridge has a say on this property, and some of his ideas, though wildly believed to be rumors, have some citizens on edge. The story is that he wants to resucitate use of the nearby railroad to a 24-hour operation, and even place a deep-well port on the property, which would more than triple the ship traffic on the Detroit River and Trenton Channel. All of which, according to the homeowners, would bring property values down.
Whoever owns the complex (ownership changes annually it seems) keeps dragging their feet and have allowed nothing positive to be made of the complex for all these years. Progress has to occur sometime, and for one fleeting moment, I thought this would be the nail in the coffin to those ideas, and the beginning of a new life for the valuable riverfront property.
Not to be. But you still have to hope. People marvel at the new downtown Detroit boardwalk, which has resurrected that part of the city. I'm sure the cities near this plant would want to feel the same satisfaction.
The drama continues. How many more pairs of shoes will be worn down in the feet-dragging before something is done?
