And here is my post destroying your rebuttal.
The luxury shopping mall failed within 10 years of opening because the downturn was already happening. And we all know the Rennaissance Center did nothing to improve the older urban core of downtown, it was a failure. But now we have Moosejaw, John Varvatos, Kit + Ace, Nike all opening up during an upswing in development and growth in downtown Detroit. Plus new shopping districts like Midtown with Shinola being the anchor.
Trapper's Alley was hardly a shopping mall comparable to Northland, Oakland, or Somerset. It was a gimmick.
The People Mover failed and the Washington Boulevard you keep mentioning probably to piss me off was not in any sense of the imagination an attempt to true mass transit, it was a heritage trolley line for tourists, so stop f---ing mentioning it.
No I don't think you keep building stuff if you are struggling. Remember John Madden lost all his money building 150 W. Jefferson. One Detroit Center was supposed to be two towers. A billionaire doesn't build a new wing on his mansion while becoming a pauper. And despite having these new buildings, downtown was still a dead zone, even during the day. You cannot say the same about today.
I would say the renovation of the Book Cadillac was the catalyst of what has happened today.
We all know stadiums and casinos don't do much for a city looking to revamp things, and they really didn't. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm taking about the fact that is seems that Metro Detroit finally gets that if it wants to survive, a healthy urban core with a vibrant business, social, culture, and transportation life is key. And that is what is beginning to happen.
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