Detroit Public Schools Community District is preparing to bring down most of the long‑vacant Cooley High School this summer, clearing the 1928 landmark to make room for an outdoor sports complex. The Mediterranean‑style campus, shuttered in 2010, has become a high‑stakes battleground between preservation advocates and district officials who argue the crumbling site is costly to secure and maintain. District leaders say trading the deteriorated structure for athletic fields and green space will cut blight and give students badly needed places to play.
District confirms demolition
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti confirmed to BridgeDetroit that Cooley is slated to be razed this summer, although he did not offer a specific start date. Vitti said the demolition is part of a broader plan to convert the property into districtwide athletic facilities and community green space.
Bid documents show abatement and demolition work
An RFP the district posted in March calls for contractors to handle abatement, demolition, and removal of the former school, powerhouse, and chimney, then restore the site as a grass‑covered property ready for redevelopment, according to ConstructConnect. The solicitation lists a March bid date and a May project start window, a signal that the work is already moving through the procurement pipeline.
State money is funding the plan
The state budget set aside $15 million to support construction of a Cooley athletic complex, the FY26 Education Omnibus shows. The district says the DPSCD Foundation will raise about $10 million more toward what is expected to be a roughly $25 million project, per reporting by Chalkbeat.
A deal to save the building fell apart
In 2023, the school board rejected a final offer from the nonprofit Life Remodeled to buy and repurpose Cooley, a proposal the board said lacked adequate claw‑back and profit‑sharing protections, according to HistoricDetroit.org. Supporters of Life Remodeled say the group had pitched a plan to convert the building into a community space and had offered up to $1 million for the property.
Why preservationists have pushed to save it
Opened in 1928, Cooley is one of Detroit’s grand, Mediterranean‑style high schools and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It closed in 2010 amid declining enrollment. Alumni and neighborhood advocates have repeatedly pressed the district to preserve the structure, arguing that its scale and architectural character make it a rare candidate for adaptive reuse instead of demolition, per reporting by Chalkbeat.
District says some parts will be kept
District officials say the current plan would retain a portion of the original building for locker rooms, weight rooms, and a community gathering space, framed as a dedication to Cooley alumni, BridgeDetroit reports. Preservationists counter that once demolition crews remove major wings of the school, most of the historic fabric will be gone for good.
What’s next for the site
The district’s RFP lists a project value in the low millions and lays out abatement, demolition, and site restoration work. A March posting date and May start window suggest the schedule could move quickly, according to ConstructConnect. Vitti’s statement that demolition is planned for this summer leaves a limited window for any last‑ditch preservation efforts to secure protections or alternative funding.
Local activists and alumni say they intend to keep pressing the district to salvage as much of Cooley as possible; demolition dates and contract approvals are the next key milestones to watch. Deadline Detroit first reported the latest update on the district’s plans; you can read that coverage at Deadline Detroit.
