Some residents in Royal Oak are upset after a developer who purchased part of the Mark Twain woods have torn it down for condos.
The property used to be owned by Royal Oak Public Schools but was sold to Midtown Point LLC in 2015. Last week, the developers began tearing down two-thirds of the woods, leaving a portion of the woods and the dog park. Now, residents are organizing to make sure the dog park and the rest of the woods remain.
“We want to address how saddened we are and angry at the destruction of the entire woods behind the school,” said organizer Pat Wall.
Wall and other organizers believe the city snuck this past them. Although the city did not sell it, they did have to approve the change.
“People are fliering the neighborhood,” Wall said. “They’re going on next door, they’re going on Facebook. They are very upset because this has sort of slid by us.”
The organizers will hold a protest march in front of the Mark Twain Dog Park on Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
