A two-story, wood-frame house on Detroit’s northwest side became the 10,000th vacant structure torn down as part of Mayor Mike Duggan’s massive plan to eliminate blight. An excavator was used to quickly tear down the house Tuesday on Marlowe Street. It was another win in a years-long battle to improve Detroit neighborhoods. Duggan’s blight program started 21/2 years ago. He said Tuesday that Detroit’s demolition program is “moving much more efficiently” than others around the country. About 10,000 houses were also demolished during the administration of Dave Bing, the previous mayor. Detroit has received about $258 million from the federal Hardest Hit Fund for demolitions and other blight removal efforts. A blight task force survey in 2014 revealed more than 40,000 structures needed demolition with another 38,000 tipping toward blight.
