Wayne County, Architectural Salvage and Goodwill partner on home deconstruction

Wayne County, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit and Architectural Salvage Warehouse have teamed together on a pilot project that deconstructed two homes in the Osborn neighborhood with the hopes that it proves feasible to expand the project into other communities. "Our goal is to make it affordable within our budget," says Wayne County Deputy Executive Azzam Elder. "The secondary benefit is that it is environmentally-friendly."

Diverting waste towards reuse and recycling can cost more initially, but Elder hopes that efficiencies in the process can be identified and exploited. It costs approximately $12,000 to demolish a house and the pilot homes are coming in around $15,000 to $18,000. "We think we're onto something," he says. "And the more volume (there is), the more competitive it gets."

Deconstruction takes apart homes and sells what still has value and recycles the remainder. Because it is more painstaking that simple demolition, it can cost more, but it also creates jobs. Thirteen non-violent parolees were put to work on the pilot project via Goodwill's Flip the Script program.

Elder is bullish on deconstruction for several reasons. "We can create a new economy with the neighborhood...a new skill set and new opportunity to create jobs from," he says. "I believe this is economic development at its finest -- we are spending money anyways trying to deal with blight and abandonment and with this model, you are helping the environment, (teaching a) new skill set, a new culture, a new economy and changing the way government does business."

Source: Azzam Elder, Wayne County
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh