[18][19][20] Since its abandonment, the plant has been a haven for graffiti artists, urban explorers, paintballers and auto scrappers, and by the early 2010's, most of the wiring and other building materials had been illegally removed from the site.

[22] Karen Nagher, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Preservation Wayne, stated that she was irked to see people come from "all over the world" to poke around Detroit.

Portions of the upper floors of several small sections in various buildings had collapsed or been partly demolished and laid in ruins in the wake of several aborted attempts at demolition over the years.

[25][26] On February 5, 2013, it was reported that aluminum letter placards spelling the Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei" (work makes one free) were placed in the windows of the E. Grand Boulevard bridge.

[34] This auction closed with a top bid of $6,038,000 by Dr. Jill Van Horn, a Texas-based physician who announced in an email that she would team up with "partners and investors from Detroit, Wall Street and international firms," to turn the site into an "economic engine", refurbishing the plant grounds for a manufactured-house assembly facility.

[35] However, the deadline for full payment was missed, prompting Wayne County to initiate talks with the second-highest bidder, Bill Hults, a Chicago-area developer who placed a $2,003,000 bid in the October auction.

[36] In a separate email, Dr. Van Horn stated, "It seemed (David Szymanski, Deputy Wayne County Treasurer) had already made up his mind to talk to the second bidder".

He planned on having six different uses for the Packard Plant Project (residential, retail, offices, light industry, recreation and art), estimated to cost about $350 million over the next 10 to 15 years.

[41] In 2014 The Display Group a Detroit based event company purchased building 22 a newer addition connected yet separately owned from Kirlin Co.

Building 22 never fell to the same kind of decay as the rest of the factory, its more modern style and layout as well as historic significance are likely contributed as did its smaller size and easy ability to partition as an addition.

The Display Group has since added a full service digital broadcasting studio to adapt towards the event industry's sudden reliance on streaming.

[45] The Display Group continues helps with putting on America's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit as well as being involved in other major recent events like the 2024 NFL Draft, Movement Music Festival and others.

[46][47] In May 2017, Arte Express, the holding company for Palazuelo, held a ground breaking ceremony for phase I of the project which will include the former 121,000-square-foot administrative building on the site.

[51] On April 7, 2022, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan ordered the demolition of the Packard auto plant in Detroit, finding that it had become a public nuisance.

The absentee owner was able to pay their property taxes before the deadline came, which allowed them to secure their ownership of the privately owned sections of the Packard Plant.