Michi

I'm confused. What are we talking about here?

The stone is my favorite element. I think it really accentuates Grand Rapids' "green" initiative and it add the perfect natural touch to the hillside, which itself is a great natural asset to have buildings built upon. I think the architecture will age well.

Very sharp looking complex. I like all the green in the rendering!

Hey, cool angle!

Hotel Yorba - Lafayette Avenue at Hubbard and Scotten in Detroit's Hubard Farms Neighborhood. You may recall the hotel as the inspiration to the song by The White Stripes: http://youtube.com/watch?v=NXmF3an6kYI

There once was this guy named Dale. One day, he went running through some ferns. He got tired of running and decided to built a fort. It grew really fast and he called the hamlet Ferndale.

Though I don't have solid numbers to support the demand for transit, I think you can get a pretty good idea of the actual demand by where all of our brains are moving...to cities with transit...just like he said in the audio. Also, I don't recall what the source was, but a few years ago, a study found that a majority of residents in the metro support funding for mass transit. By the way, the guy's name is Christopher Leinberger. You may recognize him in the area because he is a professor at UofM's real estate program. Also, he has been somewhat active in the community by being a part of the charettes that were conducted downtown in the recent past. http://www.downtowndetroit.org/ddp/newsroo...oCityHealth.pdf Here's his website. http://www.cleinberger.com/ The reason you are skeptical, Ka is because transit planning takes a very long time to impliment. Especially in this region where we've talked about the exact same things for over 20 years. It's going to take 10 just to finalize a plan, build the system, and open the first line of it for operation. It will probably take 5 to get to that point...that is ONLY if the time period between now and 5 years is NOT repeating the same 20 year old mantra of the past. So far, from my vantage point, there has been little-to-no new discussion other than a failed commuter train btw AA and Det. Much of the failure being due to the lack of evidence that this route could support transit. A complication that adds to the complexity and timliness of transit planning. Add on to that the single (ONE) shot that we get to convince the Feds that OUR line is the one they want to choose as the most viable and efficient for funding. Something I feel very negative of at this point. Mostly due to the fact that there are still small entities proposing their own transits boongoggles lately. Troy-Birmingham, AA-Brighton, Interstate Traveler, private extention of People Mover, SEMCOG, DTOGS, blah blah blah. Once you submit a proposal to the Feds, that's it. One shot. If we're lacking, prepare to wait another 5-10 years just to reevaluate a plan to submit and try again...and if we ever DO win, plan for 10 years from that point to open ridership.

Umm, the light rail (or mass transit) is what is going to turn the economy around. At least in the urbanized area. The exurbs will continue to destroy every aspect of our glimpses of hope as they continue to reach for the Mackinac Bridge. Audio: http://smartcityradio.fluidhosting.com/200...erger_bonus.mp3

From my understanding, the second phase (to be called Main North Terraces) will be built to the east of the current building. http://www.mainnorth.com/terraces.htm Then, I guess there might be a 3rd phase with the MN Residences. (??) You can see all these on the website.

Hey, cool angle!

No, not lots. But I do think that Main North Condos has a phase II project.

I know...I was like, woah! There's my house!

I'm laughing at those bus pictures. haha. Someone going to the TRU meeting tonight, Tapezord? I was going to go, but had some work to do...and look at me procrastinating...

Looks like it's tipping over.

The David Stott Building towers over State Street which traverses through the Capitol Park District of Downtown Detroit. The multimillion dollar renovation of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel and Condos rises on the right along the Washington Boulevard median.

Yep, that's Trumbull in the picture, looking south.

Yep, that's Crapfield at 8 Mile.

Ummm, I thought it's been open for a while now?

Thankfully, no. It was just after 6 on Saturday when the fee is dropped. Thanks for the response now. I'll know where NOT to send AA visitors from now on.

Nope, I pretty much ignored the place and just KNEW I had to try it from all of the hype that it was given over the years I knew about it. I couldn't even call it average. The guy that took our order was wierd. I took interested in the little jug of lemonade and he got all excited and made it clear that the best thing about the lemonade is that it has a screw cap on top so that you can carry it out if you need to. I'm like great...that justifies the $5 price tag, surely. Good grief. Highway robbery!

I just had Zinggerman's for the first time yesterday. Wow. I have never been so unimpressed with a restaurant in my life. I knew it was expensive to eat there, but still wanted to try it at least once. So, since I was in AA, I took my sister there for dinner. I felt really bad for her because her sandwich was so bad, she couldn't finish it. It was drenched in honey mustard. My sandwich was the most popular one under the turkey menu. It had NO flavor, other than the bland taste of guacamole. $30 for 2 sandwiches and a lemonade each. What a horrible horrible dining experience. The physical space was outstanding, but the food (for which we went) was an absolute disgrace! I've failed to understand what the big deal about this Ann Arbor point of interest is. Panera Bread: Perhaps the only time I'll opt for "chain America" over the mom and pop support. I'll save a couple hundred pennies too. Can we begin a discussion about this place? I need enlightenment about Zinggerman's Deli from the locals!

Maybe in the suburbs where all the policemen and women live?

No, no, no. The police department itself is corrupted, by intent. Did anyone watch the Christine Beatty accusation of the "lost traffic ticket"? Perfect example of there being no brains behind the police dept. http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/Ne...p;pageId=3.10.1 The department has also in the past excused itself from responding to calls because on-duty officers need to staff the stations. Also, an incident that is forever ingrained in my head is the story done right after Katrina where a woman renovated a home on the east side for a refugee family arriving from La. The home was vandalized and stripped from its contents and appliances. The police officer response to the woman: "This is Detroit. Get use to it."

I would have rampaged out the front door with my shotgun in tow and told them to get the f*** out of my neighborhood before I called the cops. Ok, not really. That was my attempt at a dirty joke. But did anyone else watch Karen Drew's story on the 11 o'clock news last night? The same night Allen's residence was broken into? The story was about a grandma in Troy who was being watched in a city park by a criminal. He followed her to her home where he broke in and attacked her and tried to rape her. Channel 4 previewed the story and rereported in in the story itself that "the one thing this lady did to save her life" was to immediately call the cops...right away. The first thing that came to my mind was, "what about the viewers watching from Detroit? What are they suppose to do? What's your recommendation for them? Allen, I don't know how you do it, but I would be fed up after incident #1. I live in an apartment building in Midtown w/ a doorman and a secured front door. That didn't stop the doorman from pulling out a gun and shooting a tenant who threatened his life...about a month ago now.

Step one: Go to Ouellette Street. Step two: Try them all. It's really that simple! Howerver: Dantes Peppers Woody's Outhouse Bently's Were some of my favs when I used to go to Windsor. Try this page: http://www.websitedog.net/windsor_bars.html