How urban renewal can turn into urban blight quickly. An example of a case in Detroit, Michigan.

People have the best intentions sometimes. That is when they want to renew a building on a property they have purchased which has become a victim of urban blight. They realize that the permit process is lengthy and there are several layers of bureaucracy in local government and city council in order to run a business.  

One example of how urban renewal can quickly turn into urban blight is in Detroit, Michigan. An owner purchased a small piece of property that had a single story square brick structure at the location of 12901 Kelly Road with intentions of rehabilitating the building to become a candy store. This was a kind-hearted attempt of urban renewal. (Ref: https://detroitmi.gov/Portals/0/docs/City%20Clerk/Council%202016/New%20Business/New%20Business%205-10-16.pdf?ver=2016-05-09-151011-593)

However that fell through when the owner started realizing there are several layers of bureaucracy in local government and city council in order to run a business. In other words, permit process is lengthy which can take months to get the right approval. In some cases it can take years to get approval.

So as a result, the property and building when from urban renewal to urban blight in just a matter of months. Not surprising since this is Detroit. So what happened is after staying boarded up, the building fell quickly into a state of decay thus turning into urban blight. The building is now covered in graffiti. Also the roof has gone missing. It surprising how a building that was built in 2011 can quickly fall into a state of urban blight.