Vote on Red Wings arena plan put off - again

The Detroit City Council had been expected to vote today on an extensive rezoning proposal to build the new Red Wings arena, culminating months of discussions between the council and the developer about parking plans, traffic flows around the arena and the demolition of a nearby historic hotel.

But documents required for the approval are not ready, so the vote was put off - again.

The arena developer, Olympia Development of Michigan, has changed its plans significantly since its last attempt to get the council's approval for the rezoning. Olympia pulled the request in November amid concerns from council members about parking and questions about the future of the historic Park Avenue and Eddystone hotels' futures.

This time, Olympia's plans are more refined. The company now plans to tear down only the Park Avenue, which was also known as the Harbor Light Center at one time. To retain some of the neighborhood's character, Olympia said it will renovate the Eddystone, which is the Park Avenue's sister hotel of sorts. It sits directly across the street. The new plans also call for an improved bike lane on Cass Avenue.

Councilman Scott Benson said he is supportive of the latest plans, although he said last year he wanted the Park Avenue preserved, too. Benson confirmed the delay of the vote during today's council meeting.

"It's a compromise that I can get behind, No. 1 because we are preserving some of the historic character of the area and they do have a larger plan to preserve more of the historic character," Benson said Monday in an interview.

While Olympia has talked about renovating the Eddystone, Benson said the council has not yet seen a development plan for the renovation. He said it will be Olympia's responsibility to make it happen.

"Because of proximity to the arena, you shouldn't have a problem finding someone to bring that online, and if need be, there are development incentives that can be brought to bear to assist," he said.

The Eddystone and Park Avenue date to 1924 and 1925, respectively, and are on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that can provide for additional amounts of federal redevelopment money. Both hotels are notable for their absence of windows, barricaded entrances, Italian Renaissance-style detailing and, until recently, ground floors awash in graffiti.

Should the rezoning be approved, Olympia could start full construction soon on the $450-million arena in the Cass Corridor. The developer already has begun setting up equipment on the site.

The arena is 58% publicly funded. Though Olympia will keep all revenues from arena operations, the project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and help revive a section of the Cass Corridor currently lined with vacant lots and dilapidated buildings.

The arena is scheduled to open in late 2017. Olympia and the Red Wings are both under the Ilitch Holdings umbrella of companies.

Under Olympia's request, about 12 acres of land currently zoned as a general commercial district would be rezoned as a planned development district. The new district is bounded by Woodward Avenue on the east, Sproat Street on the north, Clifford Street on the west and Henry Avenue on the south.

The 20,000-seat arena and an 1,100-space park deck would be built within the area to be rezoned. A larger public park space and an improved loading dock at the arena would be made possible with the Park Avenue's demolition.

Historic preservation advocates and some residents nearby say the Park Avenue should be saved.

Nicholas Miller, a 28-year-old Midtown resident with a degree in urban planning, said redeveloping both hotels would help fulfill the arena project's overall goal of attracting more development to Detroit.

"I think those are the types of buildings that will attract people to the city," Miller said. "I think it's a big missed opportunity if they don't reuse them."

Contact Joe Guillen: 313-222-6678 or jguillen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joeguillen.