Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Retail fund to the rescue

There's a new $5 million fund for downtown retail, the News reports. The Detroit Investment Fund will give loans ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 to establish new storefronts in the city's five core neighborhoods -- downtown, Corktown, Midtown, Eastern Market, and the riverfront. Together with new greenways and proposed transit projects, this could keep the downtown area on an upward trajectory. What's still missing, though, is housing. If all the condo and loft deals are dead, who will keep these stores in business? Let's hope the real estate market finally starts to rebound soon.

1 comment:

Eva G. said...

That's quite the Catch 22. You need business to attract clientele, but you need clientele to keep business alive. I've gotta' believe there's an answer, though, and I've got a strong feeling that it will be young people moving back to the city. Young people, however, cannot afford luxury lofts and such that are popping up and down Woodward.