The Detroit City Council is scheduled take up a rezoning plan for the area around the new Red Wings Arena tomorrow. The proposal calls for demolishing the historic Hotel Park Avenue to make way for an underground loading dock.
But preservation groups aren't happy with the plan. Emilie Evans with the Michigan Historic Preservation Network says she supports new development, but she doesn't think "it needs to come at the cost of our historic properties and our historic architecture."
The plan is intended to be a compromise, with developers receiving permission to tear down Hotel Park Avenue so long as the historic Hotel Eddystone remains protected.
"My concern is that what we'll basically have when the Park Avenue goes away is an empty lot, and we have lot of empty lots already," said Preservation Detroit's Amy Elliott-Bragg.
Developers want the arena ready for the Red Wings' 2017 season.
