[Photo Credit: Max Ortiz/Detroit News]
Detroit — One of the few remaining buildings still owned by Chinese Americans in the long gone Chinatown area has been sold.
It’s part of the ongoing land rush in Cass Corridor, the hardscrabble neighborhood north of downtown that’s planned to become a 45-block, $650 million entertainment district anchored by the new home venue for the Detroit Red Wings.
One of the latest acquisitions is the $275,000 sale of an empty 9,000-square-foot, Cass Avenue building that was once a supplier to local Chinese restaurants. The red brick at 2949 Cass was sold by the Wing Lee Lung Co. to the Masonic Temple Association of Detroit, according to Wayne County Register of Deeds. The Masonic Temple is just around the corner from the building.
“I would say maybe two or three buildings are left that are owned by the (Chinese American) community,” said Don Yee, the real estate broker with Max Brook Realtors, who was involved in the sale of 2949 Cass.
Bradley Dizik, special adviser to board of trustees to the Masonic Temple, said the Masons have not decided what to do with the building. But it fits into their overall vision of renovating and attracting more investment for its 1,037-room facility, which is the largest Masonic Temple in the world.
“We are looking to see when it is the most appropriate time to align our plans with the other development in the area,” Dizik said. Beyond the $450 million new sports/entertainment venue, another $200 million development is expected to create five “new neighborhoods” with hundreds of new apartments, a mix of national and independent retailers and a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue.
Construction of the $450 million arena could start in September.
Earlier this year, two separate buyers bought the two buildings on the western corner of Cass and Peterboro — once the heart of the small, Chinatown.
One of those buildings was former Chung’s restaurant that sold for $225,000. It had been owned by the Chinese on Leong Association.
In February, the other purchased building was the former home of Chung’s restaurant. It was bought for $225,000 by Midtown Inc., the influential nonprofit that steers much development in the area. The real estate broker Yee said the building had still been owned by members of the Chinese American community.
The roots of Detroit’s Chinatown began near Third and Porter in 1872, according to the Detroit Historical Museum. A wave of immigrants led by five Chinese families opened restaurants, grocery stores and a Chinese school between 1910 and the late 1950s. In 1963, Chinatown was forcibly relocated to Cass and Peterboro as part of a city-wide housing demolition project. The neighborhood experienced some success before political and social changes led to its demise in 1987.
