Arsenal of Democracy Gutted for Growth

WARREN, MI-The former Arsenal of Democracy property here, where tanks were built to fight in World War II, has becomecommercialized. The former Warren Tank Plant on Van Dyke Avenue once bristledwith barbed wire and stood imposing with long buildings, guard towers andenormous cranes.

Today, the barbed wire is gone, the drab, brick, 1.1-million-sf building has been gutted and repainted blue and white, and new construction surrounds it like an mechanized ambush. Oliver/Hatcher of Wixom has spent months renovating the behemoth structureand its surrounding 153 acres. Most the property is under construction forvarious industrial and education uses, and an anchor has already signed upto fill almost half of the building. The cranes are about the only objectsstaying, says Oliver/Hatcher president Paul Hatcher.

Hatcher says his company, which handles large-scale renovation projects inthe Metropolitan Detroit area, has pretty much demolished the structureinside, leaving only the roof, walls and concrete floor.”We left everything but the crane bays,” he explains. “They might still use those.”