The Ilitch family has a number of different reputations around the metro-Detroit area. The late Mike Ilitch was the owner of both the Red Wings and the Tigers until his death earlier this year. His son Chris now holds that title. Although the family is most known for their founding and ownership of the pizza chain Little Caesars since the late 1950s, they also began to acquire property in Detroit during the mid-1980s. Their most famous work is the Fox Theatre, a 1920s movie palace they renovated after it had closed due to structural issues. Although their jump into the real-estate business in Detroit seemed promising, the Fox Theatre was one of very few buildings that the Ilitch family would actually renovate.

The Ilitch’s own somewhere north of 100 acres of land in the downtown Detroit area. Controversy began in 2004 when requests to demolish the historic Madison-Lenox Hotel were submitted to the historical commission. Ilitch firms claimed that the buildings were already in disrepair when they were purchased in 1997, 5 years after they closed for good. This may have been true, but the damage to the buildings under Ilitch ownership was far worse than under the previous ownership, and the Ilitchs did little to nothing to secure or stabilize the buildings. After a number of refusals from the historical commission, the owners still believed that “the greatest need and greatest use for the property is to satisfy the parking demands.” Although permits had again been denied, wrecking crews showed up in May of 2005 and began to tear down the structures. After a week of litigation and arguments between the two sides, the Madison-Lenox bit the dust…and so began the empire of parking lots.

The list of Ilitch demolition projects didn’t stop there. The Fine Arts Building, Adams Theatre, Chin Tiki Restaurant, YMCA, YWCA, Detroit College of Law, Hotel Wolverine, and others have been demolished and now are either a part of Comerica Park or a parking lot to service it.