HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Highland Park is taking steps toward revitalization as the city begins demolishing abandoned buildings and homes. It's part of a broader effort to rebuild the once-thriving community.
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The city is calling the rebrand: A City in Motion.
The small city with a storied history has seen its population decline from nearly 50,000 to under 10,000 today following the departure of the auto industry decades ago. With the loss of auto plants, many began moving away from the city depleting its tax base.
"We're looking at trying to rebuild Highland Park up from the ground up and this is part of the starting process," Highland Park Mayor Glenda McDonald said as she stood at a once abandoned property now recently demolished. "If we can get these properties built and sold, what's better than that?"
The Highland Park mayor explained that with help from Wayne County, the city is currently in the demolition phase, working to tear down dozens of abandoned homes and dilapidated buildings. The costly process is expected to be a yearslong effort.
In June, the city hosted a meeting asking for residents' opinions on Highland Park's economic future. The top two requests were demolishing abandoned structures and bringing businesses to the area.
Patricia Hafler-Peek, who has called Highland Park home for more than 40 years, is eager to see progress.
"There's nothing of entertainment. When you want to go out and have a nice dinner, there's nowhere to go. We don't have a drugstore that stays open 24 hours," Hafler-Peek said.
"They got a ways to go, but I see some improvement. I just wish they'd rush it up a little bit."
Small business owners like Billy Summers at Roscoe's Beans and Greens Soul Food are excited to be part of the city's comeback.
"I remember Highland Park being a real busy city right in this area because it was considered a downtown," Summers said.
"It's going to be some work and some effort, not just from the city but from the community as well. Everybody gotta work together and bring it about," he added.
McDonald says once the properties are demolished, the city will work with developers to move to the building phase, hoping to attract homeowners and thriving businesses. McDonald met 7 News Detroit at a demolition site near Buena Vista Street and Hamilton Avenuee Tuesday.
"We're a city in motion, which means we're going to keep moving forward. I compare it to a train. At one point, we just had the engine. Now, we're connecting all the cars that go with it. And once we finish up the whole train, we're on the tracks. We're moving forward," McDonald said.
The city is inviting community members to come out to the Highland Park Justice Center on Hamilton Avenue on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. for their at Coffee and Conversations series. There residents will be able to speak directly to the mayor about things happening in the community and share their opinions on what they would like to see in the city.
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