Detroit has no shortage of industrial symbols of decay, former signs of economic life. For one there's the infamous Packard Plant.
But there's another you seldom hear about: The former American Motors Corp. headquarters at Plymouth near Schaefer on Detroit's west side.
Few folks miss those funky cars, the Gremlin, Javelin, Pacer and the Matador. And neighbors aren't too crazy about the eyesore: A partially demolished, historic site.
Christine MacDonald of The Detroit News reports that neighbors fear the site will remain a massive dumping ground now that the owner, Terry Williams, a scrap hauler, heads to prison for at least the next two years. The four-time felon was sentenced in Macomb County to two to 15 years in prison for failing to return a rented fork lift to a Warren company and writing a bad check for more than $500.
MacDonald writes;
Terry Williams, 49, of Detroit has irked neighbors for months by moving huge piles of debris on the sprawling grounds on the city’s west side. He was convicted last month on two felonies, and residents fear they’re stuck with a partially demolished eyesore that taxpayers eventually will have to clean up.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen to it,” said Mary Street, who has a view from her porch of the site on Plymouth near Schaefer. “They’ve got mountains of dirt back there. You never know what they are hiding.”
MacDonald reports that Williams told The News in the spring that he'd convert the property to a home for autistic children, but neighbors suspect he's scrapping there.
She reports that as recently as 2009, more than 1,000 Chrysler employees worked at the site designing Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durangos.
