oh, Detroit

over the holidays i went back to the homeland and was happy to see some new improvements and hear some positive news. a quick rundown includes the newly opened Westin Book Cadillac hotel and residences, the newly opened Hilton Ft Shelby hotel and residences, a Woodward Ave trolley that is not only privately funded, but has the traction to get going, and a deal nearly done for Broderick Tower renovation. damn, Detroit, who do you think you are?

but of course, being Detroit, with the good inevitably comes some bad news. thought, in this case i think the good outweighs the bad, which is good. The Book Building is closed. this building was supposed to see it's renewal before its brother, the Book-Cadillac did. but a series of out of state owners, battles with utilities, and failed financing on the renovation has resulted in the building's last tenant, Bookies bar, vacating. the utilities are soon to be cut. the shell left to rot. an unfortunate, but all too common problem for Detroit.

over at the Freep's article the comments section is full of finger pointing and naivety. some blame businesses for relocating to the suburbs. some blame folks like me for abandoning the town. some blame absentee building owners. the real blame comes 40 years ago in the riot that drove a wedge between the white suburbs and black city and the quibbling governments that only fanned the flames of division. businesses were left with little reason to be in Detroit as the city declined and services declined. much of the wealth left Detroit and the city services fell off as tax revenue fell. it became a vicious cycle. the only part of the city worth visiting when i was in high school was downtown and Greektown, which are pretty much the same thing.

when Dennis Archer opened up relations with the region the city began a modest renaissance. Compuware invested and built a gorgeous new headquarters downtown that revitalized a small portion of lower Woodward as well as Campus Martius. a few other businesses followed. a seeming flurry of downtown renewal began, but much of these ran out of steam lacking financing or city approval, both of which can depend on political favor. the Lions returned to Detroit, the casinos were built, the Super Bowl and the MLB All Star Game came through town. the downtown area is studded with bars and restaurants that do brisk business on game days and during special events, but are nearly empty other days.

despite the progress Detroit still has a chicken and egg dilemma. people want to live where there is entertainment and services and safety. the vast bulk of Detroit lacks a proper grocery store. where are people living in the new downtown residences to shop? its virtually impossible to live in the city without a car, something many young people crave. still rent is low enough in Detroit to allow a vehicle. but people dont want to live across the street from hulking, decaying, abandoned buildings. businesses dont look at them as opportunities. a Detroit address is not a New York or Washington address. its frequently cheaper to build a new building the renovate a 80-100 year old structure. just a new air conditioning system for a building like the Book can run easily in the tens of millions. what makes it worth while to locate there when Detroit becomes a ghost town after 6pm? but if no one lives or works there what brings services like restaurants, bars, dry cleaners, groceries, jewlers, banks, etc without an adequate customer base? all those services, plus safer streets and better city services are all out in the burbs where people live.

so where is the beginning? the development that has happened is a start. but Detroit's next mayor needs to drop the corruption, be businesses friend. be a grocery store's friend. the mayor should be transit's friend and make it easier to get around in the city. were at the point where the new government needs to undo what has been done over the last 30+ years. to me thats the only way to get the city as a whole a desirable place to live and do business. it takes a commitment from the city to really care about the city to get businesses to do the same.

(ive got some photos i will post in a one i get them processed. yes, i used film.)