Think To The Future

[rbdetsport]

Whenever I think of the Book Cadillac Project and the Broderick Tower Project, I always think about 2008. Think of all the projects in the works and all of them that are supposed to be done by early 2008. More than half. The Elliot Building Lofts, David Broderick Tower Lofts, the three permanent casinos, Lafayette Building, Port Authority Terminal, the East Riverfront Parks, GM East Project will be well underway, West Riverfront will be started, BC, Woodward Block, Monroe Block, One Kennedy Square, a new Park Avenue District, United Artists and Statler Site, Fine Arts Building, Madison Lenox Site, Transit Center, Hotel Eddystone, etc. will all be underway or done by the summer of 2008 in my opinion. Hopefully there will even be a transit system in. All of these projects being finished will make Detroit a world class city once again and put the population decrease behind us. By 2008, we can spread out to the different neighborhoods for new developments. I am very excited for the future of Detroit. This is a great time to be living in the Detroit Area! What are your opinions and predictions for the future?

[RustTown]

I guess 2008 is the next next 2006, huh? I guess it's good to set dates as goals, though. But, I wish developers and their fans, alike, would start thinking more long term.

For me, I think it will take longer than 2008 to create a world-class downtown. For a downtown to be world class, it must have a just as strong supporting cast. And by that, I mean great neighborhoods ringing the central core. Until I see people taking Cass Park, Corktown, North Corktown, Eastern Market, and even Lafayette Park to the next level in terms of big projects, downtown can never be truly world class. I'm thinking it will be more like 2015-2020 before we will be able to look at greater downtown and no longer be worried about its future.

[Jasoncw]

Whenever I hear dates like that it always seems so far away, but then time flys.

What I'm hoping is that when it's time for me to live in one of those places enough buildings will be there for me to have alot of choice, but before the prices start to go up.

But I don't want a loft unless it's actually made out of a factory or something like that. Does anyone else feel like lofts are the pre-faded jeans of housing?

I think the longterm is important too. Does the city have some kind of master plan?

Detroit is already world class as far as name recognition goes, whether that's good or bad. I agree that it'll be a while before downtown is really world class. Campus martius is really nice, and improving the triangle parks downtown would be good. I think Detroit was once called "Paris of the west" or something like that, because of its big park system and architecture. I think beauty and art should come to mind when you think of any world class city, so that would need to be reestablished in Detroit. Right now the parks are in pretty rough shape, but the city does what it can I guess. When someone says world class, I personally think more about cultural things and less about how big the buildings are, or what coperations are located there. But I think a city needs to be a functional city before it can be a world class city.

There should be a blind guy playing the guitar with an upside down hat on every corner, and a hot dog cart there too. Every few blocks should have a nice little park with some bad ass beaux arts thing in the middle of it with some lady feeding the mega-flock of pigeons by it. Every ally should be covered in artistic graffiti with some guy dancing to thriller in it. That kind of stuff.

[Zissou]

Thats a ton of speculating and guess work on all your 2008 predictions rbdetsport.

Detroit will still be losing people in 2008. A revitalized downtown isnt going to keep people from leaving the outlying neighborhoods which wont feel the effect for years. No way a transit system is in by then either. Right now its just talk from mostly people like us who are wishing something could be done. Detroit is on its way to being world class again but I have to agree with Lmich with more like 2015-2020. Its great to get excited about all these potential projects but we still have a long ways to go and a ton of work ahead of us.

[Michi]

Though I understand the excitement, 2008 is like "tomorrow" in the development world. It seems like only yesterday that I was in attendance at the very first Friends of the Book Cadillac meeting. That was what, 4 or 5 years ago.

Anyway, I share the same optimism, especially with slowly creeping positive inertia. Transit will continue to suffer though. PLANS might be headed in the right direction in 2008, but to actually have a part of the system running will be many many more years into the future. In fact, I'd be a bit nervous with a rapidly built transit system, wondering how proper its planning stage was.

[tomo]

Thats a ton of speculating and guess work on all your 2008 predictions rbdetsport.

Detroit will still be losing people in 2008. A revitalized downtown isnt going to keep people from leaving the outlying neighborhoods which wont feel the effect for years. No way a transit system is in by then either. Right now its just talk from mostly people like us who are wishing something could be done. Detroit is on its way to being world class again but I have to agree with Lmich with more like 2015-2020. Its great to get excited about all these potential projects but we still have a long ways to go and a ton of work ahead of us.

I believe that most or all of the projects listed by rbdetsport are supposed to be completed in 2007 or 2008 according to their respective developers. BC, Broderick, the permanent casinos, etc, are supposed to be completed by 2008. It'll be a few years further until the city starts to feel the effects from those permanent casinos (increased hotel capacity, increased jobs downtown and overall, a vertically expanded Greektown district) but we'll start to feel the effects from Compuware and One Kennedy and the new residents on Lower Woodward. Residential and commercial developments along the riverfront may be under construction but at the very least we should expect the RiverWalk to be under development from many angles from now until 2008 and beyond

Of course, we don't know what new developments will come into existence in the next two years. David Whitney? I'm excited about the small stores and independent restaurants that have opened up downtown in the past three years. Can we hope to expect to see restaurants opening up downtown at that same rate of about one every month?

I think the results from the Ann Arbor-Detroit rapid transit study are due soon and we'll find out which mode they decide on. Maybe we'll see construction started by 2008. Maybe if they decide on commuter rail using existing track to New Center, they will start building the light rail component connecting New Center, Midtown, and Downtown by 2008.

Meanwhile, Midtown should see continued private investment as well as developments from WSU. I believe that billions of dollars have quietly been invested there in the past couple years and the new middle class residents will reinforce downtown and the hundreds of students living in any dorm (overue) or large residential development the university builds (like the one they planned but then scrapped because the developers, who had the right ideas, wanted to build using less parking than the university wanted) will reinforce nightlife in the Greater Downtown. On another level there are new residential developments in New Center, Corktown, and other neighborhoods. The number of residents in Eastern Market is currently tiny. Maybe we'll see the number multiply and a general overhaul of the district that was already supposed to have occured. I don't know how much will happen by 2008.

All in all I am sure not 100% of the predictions for 2008 will pan out but many will happen around that time-frame and we should expect some unknowns to pleasantly surprise us. I predict downtown in 2008 will again be drastically different from today. There will be more miles of riverfront to walk, more restaurants, bars, stores, and hopefully some cafes, there will be more hotel rooms and 24-hour entertainment options (provided by casinos), and more, hopefully hundreds more, residents walking the streets.

[Zissou]

I think the key is still that these projects are "supposed" to be completed by 2008. Book Caddy isnt started yet. From what I understand financing MIGHT be finished this spring. Lafayette for Fort Shelby are still just ideas. Only MGM has begun construction for its permanent casino. Although there is lots of talk about the Hudson Block still nothing concrete is in place. And Monroe will be an even bigger hurdle. The Broderick should be on its way if not completed by then but who knows what might happen with Higgins still involved in at least some capacity. A new Park Avenue district is mentioned and other than the Detroit building I dont see much happening there. Theres a lot of "ifs" with Detroit right now so im staying catiously optimistic. I dont want to be disappointed 2 years from now when I look back on this and see that only a handful of things were accomplished. Detroit is loaded with potential but its dangerous to rest your hopes on potential.

[RustTown]

The difference this time around, though, even projects that don't get done right away will still get done eventually. This is a lot different than in the 70's, let's say, when there were tons of proposals, but everyone knew that almost none of them would be accomplished. The RenCen, for instance, was a HUGE risk. Greater Downtown hasn't had such a rosey outlook for many decades. That's the key difference. So, who cares if it's 2008, 2010, 2012, or so on? Detroit would have to do a lot to destroy the renaissance that has already started. Everyone knew Detroit was on the downward spiral in the 70's, and most everyone knows that Detroit (greater downtown) is on the upswing, today. I think we often put far too much importance on dates and times. Sure, the Book-Cadillac isn't done, but it is cleaned out. Sure, smaller lofts projects like the Metrpolitan and Wurlitzer aren't even started yet, but it is only a matter of time now, instead of a matter of will.

[Zissou]

I expect Detroit to continue to improve. At this point though Im not sure how quickly things will happen now that there isnt a deadline. Ill be much more confident in downtown come this summer if we continue to see things progress and things proposed.

[tomo]

Yeah, what Lmichigan said! A lot of the projected developments will be done by 2008, some will be only partly developed, a few will have been delayed and not have started construction yet, but others will come out of nowhere to fill in the numbers. There's plenty of ways downtown can improve its livelihood, without new buildings, just by decreasing vacancy rates on residences and storefronts.

The many things that have already happened should be accelerating factors for more developments downtown, i.e. the new restaurants and stores supported by the new creative class employees and residents make the area more hospitable to more residents to move in who will create demand for more restaurants and stores. Increasing visits from suburbanites to the restaurants post-Superbowl will increase that demand and it's an easy way for people to experience and contribute to the downtown renaissance. Simply adding to the foot traffic makes the area a more pleasant place for potential new residential tenants. Downtown's come a long way when you look back three years ago but it's not hard to believe the next years could see this much development because there is so much more of a base on which to build on top of.