New Large Medical Warehouse in Midtown!!

[Detroitnerd]

Detroitnerd says this warehouse will take up a 60-block area. The article says that the project will use 300 acres.

Google [[http://www.asknumbers.com/acre-to-square-mile.aspx) tells us that: 300 Acres = 0.4687500 Sq Mile
Google says that one-half square mile converts to 128 midwest urban blocks:
http://www.convertunits.com/from/square+city+block+[Midwest+U.S.]/to/square+mile

Much bigger than Nerd anticiaped. However, Detroit can easily afford to give over 128 pocked vacant that are not shady lanes:

"Detroit’s thinning population is vividly – some would say disturbingly – illustrated in a new map that is creating a buzz in local planning circles.
The map shows how to tuck the land mass of Manhattan [[23 square miles), San Francisco [[47 square miles) and Boston [[48 square miles) — and their combined populations of nearly 3 million people — into Detroit. All three urban areas fit snugly within Detroit’s 139 square miles with room to spare.
Detroit, where the population peaked at 2 million in the early 1950s, is home to about 900,000 today and is still losing people. The depopulation and demolition of abandoned properties has left the city dotted with thousands of vacant parcels, ranging from single home lots to open fields of many acres.
The map is the handiwork of Dan Pitera, a professor of architecture at University of Detroit Mercy. He says he created it as a simple and dramatic illustration of how underpopulated Detroit has become.
To see for yourself: Use Google Earth or a similar computer program to fly over the city and see how many vacant parcels you can find. Pitera estimates that all that empty land adds up to about 40 square miles — nearly the land mass of San Francisco."

SWMAP, what is with you today?

First off, I didn't use any rule of thumb. I used a Google acreage mapping calculator. The blocks in that area are anything but typical Midwestern blocks, so you have to get a little fancy. [[Also, it's more accurate.) See http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-go...lator-tool.htm

And secondly, are you aware that the 40 square miles figure has been debunked? The DetroitWorks people apparently included parks and cemeteries as "vacant land." [[See http://www.changinggears.info/2012/0...-square-miles/) So, yeah, it would appear that even vacant land is more precious than we had thought. About twice as precious.

[Wheels]

Oh, yes. The bottom line. Very easy to see on a document.

Not so easy to see over the centuries of a city's life, though.

Whatever. I'm sure future generations will throng there and celebrate our shining warehouse on a hill.

Don't look at the big picture. Just look at that crappy little mural.

[1953]

I'm with Detroitnerd on this. We're just working toward short term objectives if we only value development for development's sake. It needs to be urban and pedestrian friendly if its going to benefit us in the long run.

[313WX]

I'm with Detroitnerd on this. We're just working toward short term objectives if we only value development for development's sake. It needs to be urban and pedestrian frindly if its going to benefit us in the long run.

Agreed.

The 140 jobs aren't bad, but why do we have to sacrifice more of Detroit's urban fabric to accomodate them?

[detroitsgwenivere]

Interesting posts in the freep comment section.

I have never agreed with this project, how the property for it has been procured, and the lack of community engagement and consideration on HFH's part in regards to the surrounding neighborhood.

The building in the rendering looks like something I saw off of Stevenson or Northwestern Hwy. I was hoping for a campus that looked a little more "urban" and a little less "bloomfield."

Just my 2 cents.

[gameguy56]

Interesting posts in the freep comment section.

I have never agreed with this project, how the property for it has been procured, and the lack of community engagement and consideration on HFH's part in regards to the surrounding neighborhood.

The building in the rendering looks like something I saw off of Stevenson or Northwestern Hwy. I was hoping for a campus that looked a little more "urban" and a little less "bloomfield."

Just my 2 cents.

Even just a bit more 'Birmingham' and less 'Hall Road' would be nice.

It is certainly frustrating that we HAVE EXAMPLES OF GOOD DEVELOPMENT in front of their noses in the Grosse Pointes, Birmingham, Royal Oak, etc. Instead WSU/HFH/etc. decide to build like none of those and think their campus is in the middle of Auburn Hills.

[Wheels]

Hey I've got an idea.

HOW ABOUT IF THEY TAKE THE BILLION DOLLARS AND 100'S OF JOBS AND DEVELOP THE WEST BLOOMFIELD CAMPUS?

[Jason]

Hey, I've got an idea.

How about they they do a good job executing their project?

[RO_Resident]

What are they going to be warehousing?

jk/

[Jason]

From all of the articles about Henry Ford's plans I thought the project was going to be a little more ambitious...

I mean, with the parking... they know they're doing a big development so why don't they build a garage that the new buildings can share?

And I thought that the goal with this was to make the area around the hospital better to attract more patients and employees, but who do they think wants to be in what apparently is going to become a generic industrial/office park? And even if they make a bland suburban campus, do you think anyone would prefer it over the ones in the suburbs? Who are they trying to attract? They're playing to their weaknesses and building the worst of both worlds [[pathetic suburban campus in the hood sounds very attractive!!)

[mwilbert]

I don't see anything indicating that this warehouse is going to occupy anything like 300 acres--it is one tenant in the 300 acre area. Nor do I see the problem with having a warehouse in this area--it's a good sized area and it can accomodate it. It would be nice to have some kind of actual neighborhood between the HFH and Wayne campues, but I don't think that a warehouse is the big problem--the freeways and tracks already make that kind of unlikely.

That said, the overall plan for the area looks dull and likely to create a permanent barrier between Wayne and HFH on that side of the freeway. I hope it isn't as bad as I expect.

[rb336]

I think the plans I saw for the area a few years back had a fair amount of residential and retail

[Gistok]

I highly doubt that there is going to be 1 big warehouse at 300 acres 1/2 the size of the entire site of the GM tech center. Reality check... that's probably enough space for all the medical supplies for every hospital in the state of Michigan.

So whatever warehouse they need, will probably be much smaller than that. And rather than build a "campus"... why don't they reuse the American Beauty Building that WSU wants so badly to tear down. That area that HFHS wants to develop is not in Midtown... shouldn't they develop Midtown/New Center first?? Rather than leave Midtown/New Center half empty??

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

"First Major tenant" on a plan to redevelop 300 acres. Hardly a 300 acre warehouse! Read the article.

I was in Detroit over the weekend. I saw no shortage of "street grid" to be redeveloped!

[mwilbert]

And rather than build a "campus"... why don't they reuse the American Beauty Building that WSU wants so badly to tear down. That area that HFHS wants to develop is not in Midtown... shouldn't they develop Midtown/New Center first?? Rather than leave Midtown/New Center half empty??

Not if they want to build giant warehouses and parking lots.

[dmike76]

Detroitnerd, after some more thought, I do get what you are saying. Detroit needs to stay unique, otherwise what's the draw for people to move down there? That being said, warehouses are never pretty so I'm not insulted that it is 'pedestrian'.

[Detroitnerd]

It's an interesting discussion, one that doesn't happen enough. Kind of reminds me of the debate over the Gateway design. The initial designs showed a "village-like" atmosphere, and later design renderings showed a couple of strip malls joined at the hip. Architect Harold Varner was quoted in the paper as saying:

Woodward is our main street, and we want it to be beautiful. A parking lot on Woodward, that's totally unacceptable. That's a necessary facility but let's not destroy our city at the same time. You can have an entry off Woodward but no parking on Woodward. They need to replan the way the market has been planned. Whoever did the planning wasn't thinking. That's the entrance to the city. The main service entrance ought to be off of Eight Mile Road. If the big box [Meijer] is turned just 90 degrees and the service entrance is put on Eight Mile, it would make a big difference. Somebody just plopped some buildings down and put parking in the middle and that's not acceptable. There are no buildings there to shield the view from Woodward; you're going to see all the guts [delivery docks, etc.] there. That's unacceptable. Malls have a lot of parking and you need to have it, but you don't have to feel like you're in a big parking lot. They need some good urban planner to help put it together.


Now this is a guy who has designed some high-profile projects, lives in Detroit, a nice neighborhood at that, and has some sound opinions on design. Should we shout him down because he has problems with the way the facility is designed?

Anyway, thanks for sharing, guys.

[BasementBeat]

I'm not familiar with Harold Varner's work [[will check some out) - but that quote makes me wish he had more of a role in many of the new projects. Almost every big project breaking ground this year seems to have a parking lots facing the street.

[gthomas]

[Russix]

Location is great, fenced off suburban styled fortress kinda lame.