Old Ward's building comes down in Dearborn, new building set to go up

What was once the old Montgomery Ward's building in Dearborn's east downtown is no more. Well, almost. The rubble makers are nearly finished razing the historic structure, a job expected to be done by early November.

They are making way for the future, a 125,000-square-foot, mixed-use building that will stand in its place at the southeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Schaefer Road. Southfield-based Redico plans to begin building the structure soon after the last of the old structure is cleared away.

The $45 million project will serve as the new home for Oakwood Healthcare System and Midwest Health Services, creating about 500 new jobs in the core of the downtown.

The 3-story structure will feature 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. A 500-space parking deck will be built behind the new building and 100 to 120 units of senior citizen apartments will be built behind that so it melds in with the surrounding neighborhood filled with single-family homes.

Work is expected to wrap up midway through 2010.

Montgomery Ward opened the store in 1937. Over the years the business expanded into 93,000 square feet until it went belly up in 2001. It has been vacant ever since. The developer originally tried to incorporate the structure into the project but failed to make it work.

Source: Randy Coble, spokesman for the city of Dearborn
Writer: Jon Zemke

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Old Ward's building comes down in Dearborn, new building set to go up

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