The final phase of demolition has begun for a well-known vacant Detroit housing project that once was home to boxer Joe Louis and members of the Supremes. Active demolition began Monday on four 15-story towers that are part of the former Frederick Douglass Homes, better known as the Brewster projects.
Louis once lived at the project near downtown Detroit, as did members of the Supremes before the musical trio became vital voices of the Motown sound. Other demolition work began at the site last year.
The bankrupt city says the demolition is being paid for through $6.5 million in federal funds. It was built in 1935 as Detroit's first publicly funded housing development for African-Americans. The last residents left in 2008.