A front-end loader tears into the side of Douglas Park this afternoon.

I’ve been trying unsuccessfully for several days to get in touch with Mark McHenry of The Lane Co. to get an update on the developer’s progress at the site of the old Douglas Park and 4242 Cedar Springs apartment complexes. These complexes have been vacant for about a year and a half, and demolition has seemingly started and stopped several times since then, with McHenry most recently telling me that it would be complete this summer. In any case, based on a quick visit to the site this afternoon, it looks like demolition is well under way again. The 4242 Cedar Springs complex is completely gone, and workers this afternoon were putting down erosion control material where the buildings stood (see below). Meanwhile, another worker was using a front-end loader to tear the brick facade off buildings in the Douglas Park complex (above), which now appears to be about half gone. This is great news, of course, for residents and businesses in the area, because not only have these vacant complexes been an eyesore, but they’ve also served as a haven for vagrants and criminals. It’s doubtful, given the current economy and the Lane Co.’s stated difficulties securing financing (they eventually plan a $40 million, 240-unit complex), that the property will be developed anytime soon. But in the meantime, it’s better to have a vacant lot than abandoned buildings.

Workers lay out erosion control material where the 4242 Cedar Springs complex stood.

A view of Douglas Park from the parking lot of Kroger.

— John Wright

Tags: 4242 Cedar Springs, Cedar Springs, crime, Development, Douglas Park, Oak Lawn, The Lane Co.

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