Detroit's Decaying Old Train Station Has 5 New Windows and No One Knows Why | Hacker News Reader

Detroit's Decaying Old Train Station Has 5 New Windows and No One Knows Why

theatlanticcities.com

60 pointsschrofer35 comments

One would assume the mystery could be solved through city permit records, but according to Todd, there are no permits, even though there should be. "For that kind of work and the dollar amount that would come with it, yes, permits would be required," says Todd.

Wow, you need a permit in Detroit to put glass into a window?

You do in most major metros. Especially if the building is considered a "historic resource."

I live in a 10 story condo building in San Francisco, and had a window crack during a Giants fireworks show. After speaking to our building manager I found out the cost to replace a window above the 3rd floor is about $10k. You need all sorts of specialized permits, a contractor, and a paramedic on site during the work.

paramedic on the window floor, or at ground level?

To what, catch the guy if he falls?

On the ground. I believe the concern is over falling glass picking up speed on the way down.

On a historic building 100+ feet off the ground? Yes, permits are generally required wherever you are. It's not quickly replacing a ground floor window in the suburbs.

Simplest explanation: The owners had them installed to test different contractors, designs, and/or materials. Wouldn't you have someone put a few in before you signed a contract to put them all up?

Typically no, you wouldn't. Building contractors aren't teenage web designers, they don't put up with that sort of nonsense. Either you give them the whole job, or they walk away.

You think someone is going to walk away from a job that size because you asked them to put in one window to start with? I seriously doubt it

Maybe not in Detroit, but most places, yeah. If a customer signals that they're going to be a pain in the ass, the contractor will bail. There's no shortage of work for builders.

In Detroit?

There are hundreds of windows to be added. The owner is a billionaire. The contractor will do whatever he asks.

Also, maybe they're testing window designs and not checking out the contractors work. "Does it fit?" "Let's order 3 and try." It's not hard to imagine why someone would want to install a few windows in a big abandoned building before installing all of them.

They do if the client and his architect ask for it.

I've seen builders make little brick monoliths in a vacant lot to test the look of different materials.

I think these were likely installed at the expense of a window materials salesman.

Especially in Detroit where quality contractors might be harder to come by. I'd send my best guy for the chance to land the whole project.

Quality contractors are not hard to come by anywhere in Michigan. Because most new construction dried up, you can usually find quality contractors for good prices willing to start right away.

You would probably find the best bang for your buck in Michigan. Lots of quality, just little work.

They're not testing the contractors, they're testing the materials and designs.

If you're going to renovate the building into something like apartments or offices, wouldn't you want to create a model unit to photograph (from the inside) and use for later?

There won't be any "model" units in this building anytime soon, unless you staff it with 24/7 security.

Ah, the owners are the 'bridge to Canada' family: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4695608

Thankfully the voters voted for the new bridge. http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/michigan_pro...

My guess is that someone was doing a video or photo shoot inside, and needed a window for their scene.

That was my guess too. But the owners do seem to be oddballs, so maybe seeking a sensible reason is unwarranted.

Will be interesting to see if anything starts moving with this. I drive by it everyday (our office is downtown Detroit) and it never ceases to amaze me how you can practically 'see-through' the building with all the windows missing.

The funny thing is that according to Freshwater Railway's fictitious "history of Michigan Central Station" page [1], 2013 is the year that the Marouns sold the station to Freshwater Railway Corporation to begin constructing a commuter rail depot.

[1] http://fwrail.org/mcs.htm

"Work is continuously occurring in the interior"

Might be nice to have a window in a room so you have a dry area to stage your work from or take a break in.

Maybe pair it with a lockable interior door for overnight storage.

I would have thought it should have 8 New Windows and no start button.

I assumed art, but also like the test theory

Article doesn't it say whether the train station is abandoned or still functional.

"...former train station"

It hasn't been operational since the late-80s

> Michigan Central Station stopped serving trains in 1988 with multiple plans to redevelop the building falling through since. The Morouns have owned the building since 2001.