VIDEO: Last Ride Under Pontiac’s Phoenix Center as Demolition and Redevelopment Begin
(Crystal A. Proxmire, March 31, 2025)
Pontiac, MI – The Phoenix Center – a long-vacant event venue that dominated that dominated the Pontiac skyline with its pair of cone-shaped canopies – is coming down.
Ground broke to build the Phoenix Center in 1979, and while it was functional through the early 2000s, it hosted a number of concerts and community events. It was designed to be part of a grand overall downtown revitalization, including office buildings, hotels, and shopping destinations. However the full vision was never realized. The area did end up with two office buildings and an apartment building, plus over 2,000 parking spaces in the deck below the concert venue.
The Phoenix Center property closed and fell into disrepair, while also being entangled in litigation. But now Oakland County has purchased the center and the two office buildings with plans to demolish the center and replace it with a community park, and to refurbish the office buildings to move some government functions to the Downtown. Oakland County has a webpage with ongoing information at https://www.oakgov.com/government/county-executive/special-projects/downtown-pontiac.
Auburn/Orchard Lake Road, which runs beneath the center, is now closed between southbound Woodward Avenue and northbound Woodward Avenue to complete utility disconnects prior to the demolition of the Phoenix Center.
Oakland County Times obtained video of one last drive along Auburn Road through the tunnel of the Phoenix Center, which shows people at the Center capturing last-time memories of their own.
Demolition of the Phoenix Center is expected to take 8 months and will begin immediately following the utility disconnects.
Road reconstruction is expected to occur after the demolition is completed and is expected to take 4-10 months.
The road closure is expected to last a total of 12-18 months.
For updates on this and other road construction projects in the area, visit www.tinyurl.com/PontiacRoadConstruction
For updates on Oakland County’s development in Downtown Pontiac, visit https://www.oakgov.com/government/county-executive/special-projects/downtown-pontiac
Here are previous stories about the Phoenix Center:
Highlights from Executive Dave Coulter’s State of the County Address
Beneath the Surface: History and Potential Future of Underground Clinton River in Pontiac
