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It’s back to the drawing board for the Packard Plant site.
The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. did not receive any bids from developers it deemed acceptable from a request for proposals it issued this spring, so there was no developer chosen for the sprawling site near East Grand Boulevard and I-94, a DEGC spokesperson said Thursday.
The DEGC will “continue to lift up the site as a development opportunity as we meet with companies/developers considering Detroit,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We are looking for a project that maximizes the economic opportunity of the size and location of the site through jobs and private investment while celebrating its historic significance.”
The DEGC released an RFP in late May for a little over 37 acres of the dilapidated property across 55 parcels that are publicly owned through the city, Detroit Land Bank Authority or other public entities.
The city has been tearing down large portions of the old plant in the last few years, creating a large swath of vacant land where the Albert Kahn-designed property once stood. Officials have said the land is best suited for industrial and manufacturing uses tied to the automotive industry.
The 35-page RFP released in the spring said demolition on the property should be complete by the end of this year. There are portions of the former plant site that are not included in the RFP; the site boundaries snake around various privately owned parcels still nestled within the former plant’s footprint.
Much of the plant had been owned by Fernando Palazuelo, a Spanish developer most recently living in Peru who bought the site in a Wayne County tax-foreclosure auction for just $405,000 in 2014 — less than the cost of an average home in West Bloomfield Township. In all, he picked up dozens of parcels totaling some 3.5 million square feet, including the administration building on Grand Boulevard.
Palazuelo, who had a grand quasi-Bohemian vision for redevelopment that he ultimately pivoted on, lost control in 2022 of more than 30 parcels and buildings for nearly $784,000 in unpaid taxes and Detroit Water and Sewerage Department fees dating back several years.
He managed to keep a grip on key chunks of the historic plant, in particular the administration building, which was the target of a $23 million redevelopment plan from which the city ultimately scrapped its public funding after nonperformance following a 2017 groundbreaking ceremony.
The city sued Palazuelo, and has spent millions tearing the buildings down.
During Palazuelo’s ownership, which was peppered with blight violations, the property saw everything from the collapse of its iconic bridge over East Grand Boulevard to a wild animal photo shoot that drew international attention.
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