Revitalization on hold

The Free Press confirms the obvious today: the revitalization of downtown has stalled. The proposed Cadillac Centre is dead, condos aren't selling, and Quicken's move downtown is highly uncertain. New hotels have opened and DTE renovated its campus, but those projects were underway before credit dried up. Some existing stores are disappearing, too, like the downtown Borders. Development isn't totally dead -- five new coffee shops have opened recently -- but things have sure slowed down.

Gilbert will build two towers downtown

John Gallagher of the Free Press says Dan Gilbert plans to develop both offered parcels downtown -- the Hudson site on Woodward and the Statler site on Grand Circus Park. One will house Quickens' headquarters while the other will be "a mixed-used office, retail and possibly residential tower." No word yet on which will be which; he has until November to decide. Rumor has it that the Deloitte & Touche consulting firm may also build a new tower downtown when its lease at the Ren Cen expires.

“Let’s Meet in the D!”

Tom Walsh of the Free Press reports that Christopher Ilitch is leading a campaign to get local businesses to hold conventions Downtown rather than other cities. Why send your employees to Vegas when we have casinos and hotels here?

A number of firms have already made this sensible pledge: Little Caesers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Crain Communications, Deloitte, Detroit Medical Center, ePrize, Northwest Airlines, Strategic Staffing Solutions, Verizon Wireless and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

New apartments downtown

According to the Free Press, 1403 and 1413 Woodward will be converted into 70 upscale apartments with first-floor retail. The earliest occupancy would be spring 2010.

$220,500 offered for GAR building

A new offer is on the table for the castle-like Grand Army of the Republic building downtown:

$1.25 million for retail on Jefferson

The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan is sponsoring a $1.25 million program through the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation to spark retail development along a 3-mile stretch of East Jefferson from Downtown to McClellan St., near the eastern end of Belle Isle.

Don't forget Cobo

The Free Press has an article on the crumbling of Cobo Center. The facility not only needs to be expanded, the existing structure needs to be fixed. But the region seems ready to drop the ball yet again and further postpone renovation plans.

Hart Plaza remake

The Free Press's John Gallagher discusses plans for a greener Hart Plaza with an outdoor amphitheater. The amphitheater would replace the vacant Ford Auditorium and possibly house the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the summer. The plaza itself would be recast as a park with greenery and trees.

This would be a wonderful improvement over the present: an abandoned theater and an unbroken sea of hard, ugly concrete. The catch, of course, is money. The remake would cost $40-50 million, and neither the city nor foundations have stepped up yet to finance it. But here's what it might look like:

More money to make Paradise Valley

The News reports that City Council plans to spend another $7.5 million in its effort to transform Harmonie Park into Paradise Valley, a downtown district that the city hopes will be a hub for black-owned businesses and black culture. The name honors Paradise Valley / Black Bottom, the black neighborhood that was demolished in the era of "urban renewal."

The city certainly deserves a thriving black-owned area, but the article's quote of Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins still strikes me as needless: "Someone suggested to me it would be easier if we said Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley. I said no. This is Paradise Valley. This is not Harmonie Park anymore." In other words, the city once demolished Paradise Valley, so the city will now erase Harmonie Park in turn. So much for the spirit of historic preservation.

Book-Cadillac spurs more development

According to the News, the developer of the Book-Cadillac is working on two more projects downtown. The details aren't public and won't be until summer, but the developments are expected to bring more rental units downtown.

More fine dining in Detroit

The News notes new restaurants and a grocer opening in Corktown, Downtown, and Midtown.

Retail on Livernois, Downtown

According to Crain's, business owners along Livenois hope to restore the Avenue of Fashion. With the help of the Independent Retailers Association of Detroit, a new nonprofit, and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, they are working to fill vacant storefronts and create a blueprint for revitalization that can be replicated in other areas of the city.

An editorial in Crain's co-authored by leaders of the Urban Land Institute Detroit call for a public-private effort to bring more retail Downtown. A similar approach is now being taken in the development of Eastern Market.

Casinos as neighbors

The Free Press examines the impact casinos have had on their neighborhoods.

The conclusions aren't surprising. Except in Greektown, casino patrons rarely step outside to explore the neighborhood, and even there the impact seems negligible. The only major changes have been cosmetic: new streetscapes and park clean-ups designed to make the transition from the casinos' glamour to the neighborhoods' poverty less jarring for patrons.

The real impact, of course, is on the city's bottom line. So far, the the state and city have collected $2 billion from the casinos. But whether this money ever finds it way back to the neighborhoods is doubtful.

Troy/Birmingham taking transit seriously

Urban planners dream of transit-oriented development (TOD) -- development that depends on and encourages the use of mass transit. It is the opposite of sprawl.

Troy and Birmingham are the first cities in the region to consider the concept. Plans are being made to create a new transit center to connect the cities' downtowns and make both more walkable. Urban Land, the journal of the Urban Land Institute, recently published a story on their efforts: Next TOD Stop? A proposed transit center in suburban Detroit, Michigan, could bring transit-oriented development to the Motor City (PDF file).

Coupled with the Community Foundation's Greenways Initiative to re-introduce green space where concrete now prevails, one can envision a new future for Southeast Michigan with far more greenery and a network of local downtowns connected by rapid transit to the thriving urban core of Downtown Detroit. But that, of course, is wishful thinking ...

Ugly or innovative?

Model D interviews the architect of the new Cadillac Centre planned for Campus Martius downtown and explores what its design means for the city.

Personally, I prefer Albert Kahn, but maybe I'll like the new building when I see it. At least it's environmentally friendly.

Cobo to expand?

There are plans bouncing around to expand Cobo Center, Detroit's downtown convention center. For more, see Crain's Detroit, the Free Press, or the Detroit News (in that order).

The strangest twist is a proposal to designate the convention center a "tax-free zone" in order to attract more business. That sounds like bad precedent to me. Before long all convention centers will be tax-free in order to compete.

Also odd: a plan to directly connect Cobo to the Renaissance Center with a $25-million covered walkway. Where will it go -- meandering through Hart Plaza? And who needs it? Visitors shouldn't be shielded from ever seeing the city itself.

Retail ... or the lack thereof

The Detroit News focuses on the potential for the proposed Cadillac Centre to bring new retail to Downtown.

Presently, Detroit has virtually no major national retailers. The only big-box store in the city's 143 square miles is a Home Depot on Seven Mile. There are only two multi-screen theaters. With the close of Farmer Jack, there is not a single national grocer. The city is home to dozens of wonderful small businesses, but the lack of national retailers is nevertheless appalling.

Tuesday's news ... on Thursday

Published every Tuesday, Model D is the best source of news on development in Detroit. These are some highlights from this week's:

• TechTown, Wayne State's technology incubator, has received a $1.5 Kresge grant to expand operations.

• Recycle Here!, the city's new recycling initiative, is off to a good start and hopes to add curbside service in selected neighborhoods. Model D has previously reported on the push to bring recycling to the city.

Also from Tuesday:

• The Free Press reports that University of Detroit Mercy is encouraging its employees to live near its campuses by offering $10,000 toward the down payment on homes in adjacent neighborhoods. Wayne State has a similar initiative to encourage employees to live near campus and contribute to the neighborhoods.

• In light of the announcement of the new Cadillac Centre, the News takes a closer look at the status of other projects Downtown.

Monday news roundup

• The Free Press reports on Open City, a new networking group for entrepreneurs looking to start and grow small businesses in the city.

• According to Crain's Detroit, The Skillman Foundation is attracting millions in matching dollars for its effort "to foster healthy, safe and supportive environments for children and their families" in six Detroit neighborhoods.

• Also in Crain's, a dry article on the Downtown housing market with an important point: "People can’t sell their suburban homes, so they don’t have proceeds to use for buying a Detroit condo; and the lending market makes it hard to take on more debt." The national housing / credit crisis may prevent further housing construction Downtown.

• Finally, a Detroit News piece on a new task force to bring grocery stores to the city. The task force is needed: with the closing of Farmer Jack's two Detroit locations, the city is without a single national grocer within its limits.

"$150-million complex planned for downtown"

Fresh from the Free Press.

At first glance it's ugly but innovative. Most importantly it's a huge development for Downtown. But I do wonder about the long-term future of Detroit. I fear a two-tier city: at the center, a wealthy, bustling downtown radiating out from Woodward from Jefferson up to the New Center; and surrounding the urban core, a sea of poverty.