Former library built in 1925 reopens as Detroit police precinct building

A historic library in northwest Detroit slated for demolition has been officially opened as the Detroit Police Department’s newest precinct building.

The city has repurposed the former Redford Branch Library on West McNichols Road into the Eighth Precinct Community Annex, a headquarters for DPD’s neighborhood police officers, a special unit that focuses on responding to calls that don’t require an emergency response. The nearly century-old building will also be used for community events and meetings.

The police department began renovations on the building in 2019. The current Eighth Precinct building opened in 2017 after it closed 12 years earlier as part of a restructuring of the police department’s patrol operations, according to WJBK (Channel 2).

Mayor Mike Duggan said at Friday’s ceremony he made reopening the Eighth Precinct a campaign promise.

“I promised the voters in this area that that one way or another, I would reopen the Eighth Precinct right in this area of northwest Detroit,” Duggan said Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Detroit first used the building, built in 1925, as the Redford Branch Library when the city annexed part of Redford Township in 1926 into the city limits. It closed in 1971, city officials said, and was reopened for a time as an African American history museum before shutting down again in the 1990s. The building was sold in 2010 as part of a deal that also included the former Redford High School complex.

Duggan credited City Council President Pro Tem James Tate, who represents District 1, for leading the push to preserve the building. Duggan said the city originally planned to demolish it and use it as a parking lot for the Eighth Precinct’s main building.

“It was very clear to me and other members of the community that a building with this level of architecture that you don’t find anywhere should not be demolished,” Tate said. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy project and clearly, it wasn’t. It took time, but as we know, important things it take time.”

Police Chief James White, Deputy Chief Tiffany Stewart, Eighth Precinct Commander Dietrich Lever and College Park Community Association President Peggy Noble also attended Friday’s ceremony.

Noble, a retired social worker, said it’s been necessary for her to act as a voice for her community. She said during the 12 years the Eighth Precinct was combined with the Sixth Precinct, residents remained hopeful it would reopen.

“We’ve been waiting for a long, long time,” she said. “You have to have someone in the community to act and make sure things go right.”

jcardi@detroitnews.com