THE ZONE - Since the late 1990s, I've watched this neighborhood become abandoned, torn down, and blocked off by concrete barricades. The last residents moved out, their houses and the burnt ones surrounding them were demolished; the haunted church of St. Cyril's village was scrapped to the point of collapse; the vacant streets became dumping grounds, which brought on the concrete roadblocks; the trees were torn out, to appease potential builders; finally Cooper school on Georgia was closed and scrapped clean. But the sale of the land never happened. Aside from the massive complexes along Huber, The Zone still sits vacant. Large uprooted trees lay in piles. Random mounds of earth and demolished debris have overgrown with grasses and wildflowers. Flooded streets have become marshlands and swamps. Wildlife abounds: pheasants, rabbits, snakes, frogs, hawks, numerous birds, along with stray cats or dogs, can all be found here. The I-94 Industrial Park Renaissance Zone has inadvertently become one of the most natural topographies of Detroit.

In September of 2014, while working on my project Lot Circles, the Industrial Park Renaissance Zone was once again cleared of all debris and trees - leveled down to the dirt, 10 years after the first mass clearing. In 2015, 40 acres were purchased by Matty Moroun, who immediately built a huge logistics center. 2 years later, another 30 acres were purchased by auto parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate, and construction began in 2017. Yet there are still dozens of wild acres left, which I will keep documenting until they too vanish.

“The I-94 Industrial Park Renaissance Zone is 289.6 acres. The Industrial Park, Phase 1, located inside the Renaissance Zone, is comprised of 189 acres. Up to 153 acres of Phase 1 are buildable. The property is approximately 2,500 feet by 2,500 feet. The property is an irregular square shape. The land is flat. There are no wetlands on the site. The site is not within a flood hazard.” - Excerpt from the MEDC's online I-94 Industrial Park Detail PDF