dnast

That's a crazy pic. It's surprising to see Swartz Creek on CNN. I wonder if there will be a tour of the LBC since developers seem to like providing tours lately. If so, I hope they aren't on weekday mornings like the previous ones. I was driving by the Durant today and noticed one of the boards had been removed and set aside. I guess somebody's doing some exploration. Hopefully they aren't vandals. Now that June is here, I'm (somewhat) patiently waiting for Jewelry World to move and for something to happen at the Rowe Building site.

Yeah, it seems like we pushed all other off-topic posts out of discussion. I'm with rb, too. I commend you, Lakelander, for being such a good sport! I'd probably be too pissed to even post about the Pistons this soon had they lost.

I drove by to check for myself. I don't know how I missed the office space in that structure. I could see it from Saginaw St. I was wrong about how the blue thing on the LBC (yeah, that is much easier to write ). Looking from the back it goes up to the top floor but goes to a right angle to fram part of the top window. Doesn't look bad at all. Also, I noticed the glass has been installed on the ground floor of the old Economy building. I'm guessing they'll be moving blockade (for lack of a better word) from in front of that building soon, too. I wonder how far away the opening of the cafe is. Jewelry World is supposed to be moving in the middle of this month. Hopefully work on the Rowe building will start soon or there won't be much activity to look at unless they're pretty close to putting the new materials on First Street Lofts.

I saw glass-carrying trucks the last few times I went downtown, but there were no windows on them and none on the building until yesterday. The top floor and ground floor were done when I went by. I'll to stop by today and see if the brick side is finished. Were they doing anything on the other half of the building? Also, it's nice to be able to see the whole facade now that they removed the stuff from in front of the building. I never knew there were office spaces in that parking structure. What direction are they facing? Seems funny but there is space in Northbanks parking structure for retail, too. It's pretty tiny, though. Wi-fi would be great for the area. It would make the area a little more attractive to the creative class and could be a small piece of the puzzle of slowing down brain-drain.

Thanks! I guess it seems crappy because it seemed much better in person than what came out of the pics. That sums it up nicely. I'm no artist but I can tell they wouldn't be highly regarded, in the least. At the same time I was still glad to see them in person. Things like that give a little more flavor to the street scene.

W00t!! Gotta give Miami credit. While I still don't believe either team played their best this series, Miami has a bright future ahead of them - Shaq or no Shaq. Even before the trade you could see that young team was gonna be scary just from watching them last year against Indy. I almost had a heart attack, but the Heat made this win a worthwhile one.

Yes, the Land Bank Center has been trying to land a grocery store and Uptown Developments are trying to bring one across from the Republic Bank building in the former Dale's and Baker Drugs building, combining them. There are grocery stores closer than Center and Miller and there are a gazillion convenience stores in the city, but I get what you mean . I haven't been to the farmer's market in a few weeks, but it's close and most items are relatively cheap, so why not?

I got a chance to go downtown Saturday, and it was nice to see the steel going up there and at the Ellington. I only took a few pics since it was so hazy and humid and I ended up leaving my camera in the car. The crane at the Visteon site looks so huge compared to what's there now. Hopefully, in a few weeks the structure will be much higher. I'm looking forward to it! Here's one of my crappy pics. I only like it because it shows some of downtown's density:

I'm being nit-picky but being in Detroit the past couple of days, pharmacies aren't hard to come by, and I assume most people don't buy lumber often enough to need it within "biking distance". That being said, I agree with keeping the momentum after the Super Bowl. I'm only hoping I'm right, but I believe the Super Bowl is serving as a deadline to get Phase I of the "City Core Redevelopment" done in a timely manner. I hadn't been there in months, but it's great to see the construction cranes and steel frames on Woodward. The little I saw of the "Car Tunes" were a nice touch. I only assume it was an outisider saying this because of the wording, but I heard a yound lady saying, "This is an interesting city...", while driving by, that people are regaining interest in the once great city. I only say "once great city" because I spent most of my time outside of downtown and Midtown. There's still a lot of work to do. I can't say that I will be one of those people that'll help bring Michigan's city back up to par, but while I'm here I will do what I can. I hope there's some focus on the middle class that wants a nice looking, urban environment. There's so much potential there, but people seem to get caught up in "luxury" and affordable housing that there's a lot that Detroit is missing out on. The M-L and Statler are lost, so let's support what's still there and keep the momentum going.

I was thinking that the Pistons would easily beat the Heat if they just did what they did at the end of last season. But I thought about it, and figured Miami wasn't playing their "A game", either. It's a shame that Wade got hurt, because I wanted the Pistons to win fair and square. Everyone called last years' title a fluke, but I think they could've won against any team (although it wouldn't have been a lot closer). Miami is the hungrier team and it shows. The Pistons have been inconsistent with their play all season and don't really resemble last years' team. I hope they get their act together and don't let today's and possibly Monday's win go to their heads. And I won't be able to like the team much longer if they keep whining so much...

How long will these be on display? I might have to make a visit this weekend. I've been away too long.

LOL! You don't need to flop against Shaq. Does he realize he weighs about 100 pounds more than most NBA players? Either way, I don't think the Pistons could've won this game. They missed too many layups and Miami's roleplayers hit way more jumpshots than they should've. If Rasheed comes to play, I expect a rout in game 6. I hope I didn't take the thread too far off-topic

They didn't say. They just said that the dorms likely wouldn't be ready until 2007. I guess it's not a bad thing since it'll give downtown a chance to provide more for those students coming to live on campus.

The streetscapes are looking nice! I haven't been downtown since the holiday season and I didn't do much walking then, it being winter. I'm going to have to make my way back there soon.

I've been wanting to post that story all day, but never got the time to do it. I assumed it was downtown, too, since they're renovating a building for this project. It's still hard for me to get used to announcements like this. A few years ago you rarely heard anything about downtown. These smaller projects are starting to add up. Man, if the UM-Flint dorms didn't get delayed, there'd be a nice influx of new downtown residents next June.

The officiating was still bad. The refs were so inconsistent that it had to be hard for players on both teams to know what to expect from the referees. I'm glad we pulled out the win, though! That looked more like Pistons I know.

Oooh! I know what you're talking about now. Both of those buildings need to get rid of that. It's sad that both buildings' facades look intact and well-maintained, but are just very unattractive. It's ironic that the building with the wagon was last used as a bookstore, and the building next to Paul's is downtown's newest bookstore. Incorporating the house building into the Land Bank Center would've been nice. If they didn't add a floor to that building, they still could use it's roof as an amenity for a couple of the lofts (and make some extra $$ in the process). I'm seeing more and more people staring and talking about the buildings under construction downtown, too. It's really nice to see that because I honestly thought most people didn't care.

I think it became frustration at the end. Everyone guarding Shaq got countless fouls called on them for mostly holding their ground and keeping their hands up. To top it off, some of Miami's players were hitting shots they should've missed and Shaq suddenly resembled Dan Majerle at the free throw line. Since you've kept that banner in your sig since last year, though, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Although it hurt the Pistons more, the officiating was bad on both sides. I'll just wait 'til game 4 to make judgement. The Pistons have been in much worse situations and proved themselves. Let's see if they really live up to being the reigning champs.

Wow, those are nice. I haven't been to Tony's site in a while. I need to revisit... But to take this thread back off topic (that's what it's for, you know ) tonights Pistons game had atrocious officiating. I was about to boycott watching the rest of the series but then I came to my senses. I'll watch game 4 before I come out with my conspiracy theories...

Maybe they were cleaning the bricks? Notice the slight change of color on the wall that lines up with the equipment hanging from the roof? I think the "blue thing" is going to be like a separator that goes "through" the whole building. Here's a pic from yesterday (I forgot to take a photo of the alley side).

I hope they bring back the downtown tours this summer. I'd love to see the interior of the Capitol in person. It's probably too early in the planning stages for Uptown to announce a construction date for that project. I don't think they've secured a tenant yet. On a related note, I think downtown might be better served by a convenience store that sells select groceries until more loft conversions are done. A failing grocery store could hurt really downtown's improving perception and momentum.

Yeah, I was surprised to see them decorating the back of the building. I wonder if there is going to be a public entrance on that side. Sorenson-Gross is supposed to put a branch office in the back of the old Economy, as well. It'd be nice if there were more storefronts along Buckham Alley to compliment existing places like The Loft and the Torch Bar & Grill.

Yes, the old Flint Journal building is still in use. They kept all of the offices in the building. The new building holds the new press and serves as the Journal's distrubution center. But on that note, I'd like to see more of Harrison St. developed. I don't think the parking lots behind the Genesee Towers get much use. I'd like to see a 3-5 story building or two built there. If necessary, they could include a couple floors of parking or something. I'd also like to see work start on the MTA terminal renovation. They made an announcement sometime last year, and I believe they already have the funds with the millage that passed last year. I hope we hear some news soon.

Yeah, I hope that price is just the worst-case scenario. That's a big jump. There was an article today about First St. Lofts, and the usual recap of projects. I noticed that they keep bringing up the old Dale's store and Baker Drugs. I guess that project must be next on the list. Also, I took a couple of pics of the Rosewood Riverside Townhomes. It looks like they want them to blend in with the apartment buildings next door.

Last I heard, only the marquee and some of the brickwork had been restored. Also, it was said the renovation could cost as much as $20 million