Demolition has begun of the long-abandoned Southwest Detroit Hospital to make way for a planned professional soccer stadium and dozens of new apartments.
On Friday afternoon, Dec. 19, an excavator ripped through an entrance to the old 1970s hospital at 2401 20th St. off Michigan Avenue in Corktown, to the delight of a gathering of Detroit City FC club officials and fans who were there to celebrate.
Once the building is down, construction is to begin on Detroit City FC’s new 15,000-capacity soccer stadium, to be called AlumniFi Field.
Club co-founder Sean Mann said they plan to work through the holidays with a team of HOK architects and construction experts to finalize the stadium design. Their goal is to break ground in the spring and finish building it in time for the 2027 soccer season, although precisely when in 2027 is yet to be determined, he said. The soccer season ordinarily begins in March.
Mann said that watching the derelict hospital building begin to come down was exciting and surreal.
“It’s a proof that this is real, that this is happening,” Mann said. “For all the cars that drive by on I-96, I-75 every day, this will ultimately be the biggest billboard for soccer this region will ever have.”
In addition to the stadium, Detroit City FC will be developing a new 421-space parking deck, 76 nearby apartments and 16,000 square feet of commercial space. The total cost of everything in the development is expected to be $198 million.
Mann said they are now finalizing their partnership with a nonprofit partner who would take the lead on developing the housing.
“If we line up everything right, we will be doing the pile-driving for the stadium and the parking deck at the same time,” he said. “So I would hope that the apartments aren’t too far behind.”
Detroit City FC’s new stadium would be more than twice the 7,200-person capacity of Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, where the team now plays.
Southwest Detroit Hospital opened in 1974 with a unique exterior design of stainless steel and porthole windows. The lobby featured a giant 9-by-28-foot painted mural, Kaleidoscope, by Detroit artist LeRoy Foster.
The hospital declared bankruptcy and closed in 1991. A private owner reopened the hospital building several years later for various health care-related businesses, although the building eventually closed again. It had been completely vacant since 2007.
The building in time fell prey to vandals and graffiti artists, and at one point had a large “Purge Suey” graffiti tag that was visible to passing motorists on the freeway.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan joined the soccer club Friday afternoon for the start of the demo. He described the old hospital as one of several large and notorious abandoned buildings that his administration worked hard to get brought down and redeveloped.
“I don’t know how much money we’ve collected in fines when the previous owner couldn’t get the graffiti off the top of the building,” the mayor said. “And because of its proximity on the freeway, this building gave a lot of people an image of the city.”
Detroit City FC acquired the decrepit hospital building in March 2024 from prominent Detroit landlord Dennis Kefallinos. To prepare it for demolition, the club this summer had the building’s basement drained of over 2 million gallons of water.
The club is expected to receive up to $88 million worth of development incentives and tax breaks to build the the full stadium development, including the housing and the parking deck.
This story was updated to include new information.
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @JCReindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Demolition begins of abandoned Detroit hospital for soccer stadium
Reporting by JC Reindl and Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
