Can you name something that makes you feel Detroit is on a comeback

[masterblaster]

The dysfunctional and crooked school system called DPS would turn off any family considering moving to Detroit. The Yuppies are great, and have turned the ghost town known as downtown, into a promising area. Midtown is hot as well – except Spain elementary. Attracting families is not on the horizon; families will never move to Detroit – en masse – as long as the public schools are decrepit, crooked, and seem to hire their administrators right out of the parole office.

I have heard great things about Chrysler Elementary in Lafayette Park.
It scores an 8 out of 10 according to the following website
http://www.greatschools.org/michigan...entary-School/

In addition, there are several great high schools - Cass Tech, Renaissance, Detroit School of Arts, Communication & Media Arts

[masterblaster]

To the perpetual haters - Chicago48, Bham82, TTime

Nobody is saying the whole city or even most of the city is COMING BACK. My neighborhood, Warrendale, is still in slow decline. The vast majority of neighborhoods from Dexter-Davison to Brightmoor to Conant Gardens to Boynton to Old Redford are stagnant or falling still.

All of us cheerleaders are cognizant that it is just a SMALL part of the city that is coming back. Downtown, Midtown, Corktown, East Riverfront, the Villages. Neighborhoods like University District, Rosedale Park, East English Village are relatively steady.

All of us cheerleaders know that DPS is still terrible, that property tax rates are still high, that incidence of violent crime is still high and has not shown consistent decline. We can still be happy about the few areas that are growing. Nobody's trying to sell you on Highland Park's or Jefferson-Chalmer's renaissance, so please stop making it seem like people are trying to convince you that the majority of the city is getting better and that the population of the city is growing again and that its a great place for families.

[Jimaz]

"Can you name something that makes you feel Detroit is on a comeback?"

Construction cranes.

[SDCC]

I have heard great things about Chrysler Elementary in Lafayette Park.
It scores an 8 out of 10 according to the following website
http://www.greatschools.org/michigan...entary-School/

In addition, there are several great high schools - Cass Tech, Renaissance, Detroit School of Arts, Communication & Media Arts

Renaissance High is a shining light - Star - in the city of Detroit. I'm not just speaking of the local or state level, I'm talking nationally. Renaissance is an excellent school, as is Cass Tech, however comparing the two schools side by side, Renaissance scores much higher [[almost double in some rankings) than Cass Tech. Cass Tech is another great school, but by far Renaissance is firmly in 1st place - Bravo.
The majority of the other schools in DPS did not do so well, however, I would like to see clean, brightly lite classrooms, with sanitary bathrooms that are completely functional, in a building that has adequate supplies, and is safe and structurally sound, prior to me ranking, or criticizing any students.

[Bham1982]

To the perpetual haters - Chicago48, Bham82, TTime

Don't forget to add the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to your list of "perpetual haters". Any organization dealing in data and factual, nonpartisan narratives should also be added.

[emu steve]

Sorry I don't have an answer to the question.

That's not meant to be snarky or anything, but rather a realization that the answer has 'to knock your sock off' in magnitude.

Couple of things I think can rise to [[near) the bar I set:

1). Pistons move back to Detroit. As Bernie would say, "That would be [[h)uuuuuuuuuge". The Pistons would not move back unless Detroit is really 'back.'

2). Detroit and S.E. Michigan gets 1st class BRT which would, by transportation, would seamlessly integrate major parts of Detroit [[e.g., Michigan Ave., Gratiot, Woodward, etc.) with the suburbs. Think of the barriers [[think of Michigan Ave/Wyoming) built during the time of [[late) Mayor Orville Hubbard [[Dearborn) which would fall.

[Bham1982]

LOL. Detroit is "coming back" if a basketball team moves a few miles, and if a bus system is improved.

Yeah, that would do it. It wouldn't be actual data indicating the city has a growing population and economy.

Maybe if a Cheesecake Factory opens; that will seal the deal. Much more important then whether or not hundreds of thousands of people decide to make Detroit their home in the coming years.

[emu steve]

LOL. Detroit is "coming back" if a basketball team moves a few miles, and if a bus system is improved. Yeah, that would do it. It wouldn't be actual data indicating the city is growing.

Okay, the Second Coming occurs at the new arena.

He descends through the roof, extends his arms, etc.

[dtowncitylover]

Don't forget to add the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to your list of "perpetual haters". Any organization dealing in data and factual, nonpartisan narratives should also be added.

But you totally disregarded, per usual, the rest of his post that said the city isn't growing.

And you do disregard the real fact that Detroit's CBD-downtown, midtown, and New Center-is seeing development and work on a scale never before seen in our lifetime. Everything that came undone, density, an active downtown core, shops, the "unsafe" mindset, is being reassembled.

Are we New York? Chicago? Toronto? Hell no, but we are definitely not Detroit 1990-2008 and to me and most people that is progress and a "comeback", albeit small.

Building a streetcar, moving businesses downtown, adding residential units would never have thought possible in 1995.

[EastsideAl]

People who can no longer afford to buy IN Indian Village, buying and rehabbing houses in nearby neighborhoods. New owners and significant renovations for riverfront apartment buildings on the east side. New stores and restaurants going in in the West Village, on Jefferson, and near the Riverwalk.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

What impresses me most are the communities that are organizing, purchasing properties, and restoring them. Grandmont Rosedale Development is doing great things. Organizations such as Motor City Blight Busters, Brick and Beam and Preservation Detroit [[just to name a few) are people in the city working to make the city better... The "come back" is much further along than you may realize.

I had never heard of "Brick and Beam" but found their website quite interesting.

http://www.brickandbeamdetroit.com/

[emu steve]

Getting back to the discussion.

I'm not sure it is something that changes slowly over time, e.g., increased number of building permits issued in Detroit, or crime rate declining or high school graduation rates increasing.

It seems, to me, something that would make national TV news, e.g., a joint announcement that 1,000 multi-family housing units will break ground in a few months in Brush Park. Or somewhere else like the state fair grounds site.

Literally a new city within a city is being reborn.

It can't be 150 today. Two hundred six months from now. Two hundred again next year. Etc.

Something of that magnitude would indicate that at least in one part of the city that it is a 'new day' - out with the old, and in with a "New Detroit".

I can guarantee, I think, that if the mayor announced 1,000 new housing units in Brush Park would break ground in three months it would be on the evening news [[national).

"A Brand New Neighborhood is Coming to an Old Neighborhood in Detroit: A "New City" Within the City of Detroit."

It would mention the thousands of 'new' residents, the new arena, the new QLine, the revitalized downtown, maybe even Belle Island, etc. etc. "A 'New Day' in Midtown Detroit. Will this lead to more neighborhoods having their "new" day?"

[TTime]

To the perpetual haters - Chicago48, Bham82, TTime

Nobody is saying the whole city or even most of the city is COMING BACK. My neighborhood, Warrendale, is still in slow decline. The vast majority of neighborhoods from Dexter-Davison to Brightmoor to Conant Gardens to Boynton to Old Redford are stagnant or falling still.

All of us cheerleaders are cognizant that it is just a SMALL part of the city that is coming back. Downtown, Midtown, Corktown, East Riverfront, the Villages. Neighborhoods like University District, Rosedale Park, East English Village are relatively steady.

All of us cheerleaders know that DPS is still terrible, that property tax rates are still high, that incidence of violent crime is still high and has not shown consistent decline. We can still be happy about the few areas that are growing. Nobody's trying to sell you on Highland Park's or Jefferson-Chalmer's renaissance, so please stop making it seem like people are trying to convince you that the majority of the city is getting better and that the population of the city is growing again and that its a great place for families.

Hater? Ha, I'm just your definitely necessary reality check. First off, I don't agree with your list of steady areas at all but to generalize, this town has some great qualities and in time it will hopefully be a nice place to live. My problem occurs when idiots constantly blow the city over things that should be expected or if they inflate the truth I'm going to call BS...plain and simple. This town has a long, long way to go and I don't think back patting of any kind is warranted. I also have to point out that while many think this race to improve is simply a competition against our very recent past, we are also in competition with every other city in the U.S. and unfortunately for us they are improving at a faster pace...just one man's opinion and if you truly think you are doing great things it shouldn't bother you in the least.

[Bham1982]

And you do disregard the real fact that Detroit's CBD-downtown, midtown, and New Center-is seeing development and work on a scale never before seen in our lifetime.

How do you figure this?

During the 1970's-80's, downtown got a 7 tower complex, including a luxury shopping mall, the tallest hotel in the world, and six office towers. Detroit completely rebuilt the two main shopping corridors, and added a new mall and department store in New Center. Oh, and an elevated rail system alongside a street-running trolley.

During the 1980's-90's, downtown got multiple trophy office buildings [[including one by Hines, the gold standard in higher end commercial space) a shopping mall in Greektown, three highrise residentials, multiple new hotels, and two huge riverfront developments along Jefferson.

During the 1990's-00's downtown got two new HQ buildings, three massive casinos, two new stadia, renovated its largest abandoned tower to a luxury hotel, major expansion at Wayne State.

You can have stuff get built and still struggle. A city as big as Detroit will have development, even if the overall narrative is decline. "But stuff is being built" isn't really a reasonable response to whether or not the city is still declining. Stuff is always being built, whether cities are growing or shrinking.

[TTime]

How do you figure this?

During the 1970's-80's, downtown got a 7 tower complex, including a luxury shopping mall, the tallest hotel in the world, and six office towers. Detroit completely rebuilt the two main shopping corridors, and added a new mall and department store in New Center. Oh, and an elevated rail system alongside a street-running trolley.

During the 1980's-90's, downtown got multiple trophy office buildings [[including one by Hines, the gold standard in higher end commercial space) a shopping mall in Greektown, three highrise residentials, multiple new hotels, and two huge riverfront developments along Jefferson.

During the 1990's-00's downtown got two new HQ buildings, three massive casinos, two new stadia, renovated its largest abandoned tower to a luxury hotel, major expansion at Wayne State.

You can have stuff get built and still struggle. A city as big as Detroit will have development, even if the overall narrative is decline. "But stuff is being built" isn't really a reasonable response to whether or not the city is still declining. Stuff is always being built, whether cities are growing or shrinking.

I expect a few Millenials to contest this post because nothing of note has ever happened unless they had something to do with it but I'm glad you posted this. You can't imagine how new Detroiters I encounter constantly tell me how nothing happened in Detroit til they showed up. At that point I ask them if they hung out in the city until recently and the answer is usually,"no why would I there was no reason." .... I laugh and walk away.

[mwilbert]

Things that I do not think you need to have to say Detroit is on an upswing:

1) Overall population growth
2) Families with children moving in
3) Decent schools

These would be great, but in my view, the city has been improving steadily over the past 5 years without any of those things, and it could probably go another 15 without any of them, although I suspect that if things continue to improve for that long that population will probably bottom out by then.

Things I think are indicators of an upswing now:

1) Large-scale reuse of previously empty buildings/lots in greater Downtown.
2) Rising quantity of higher-end retail and dining.
3) More jobs downtown.
4) Declining subsidy levels for construction/renovation.
5) Expansion of areas where new market-rate housing is being created.

Things I think will be the next indications of a continued upswing:

1) Major construction with conventional financing [[but there will probably be tax abatements for a long time).
2) Rising average incomes in the city.
3) Rising city tax collections.
4) Substantially increased housing production in greater Downtown.

Time for an anecdote!

A friend of my brother's, originally from Detroit, now splits his time between NYC and Toronto. He hadn't been back to Detroit for 5-10 years, but was in town a few weeks ago. My brother took him on a bit of a tour, and his friend was quite surprised at the improvements. Not because Detroit now rivals New York or Toronto, but because it is so much ahead of where it was last time he was in town.

Note that none of this is intended to say that what is happening now is good enough. It isn't, and there is vast evidence that Detroit isn't doing well by a large proportion of its residents. There are significant problems that may not be overcome. But it is better than it was, and hopefully it will continue to improve.

[dtowncitylover]

How do you figure this?

During the 1970's-80's, downtown got a 7 tower complex, including a luxury shopping mall, the tallest hotel in the world, and six office towers. Detroit completely rebuilt the two main shopping corridors, and added a new mall and department store in New Center. Oh, and an elevated rail system alongside a street-running trolley.

During the 1980's-90's, downtown got multiple trophy office buildings [[including one by Hines, the gold standard in higher end commercial space) a shopping mall in Greektown, three highrise residentials, multiple new hotels, and two huge riverfront developments along Jefferson.

During the 1990's-00's downtown got two new HQ buildings, three massive casinos, two new stadia, renovated its largest abandoned tower to a luxury hotel, major expansion at Wayne State.

You can have stuff get built and still struggle. A city as big as Detroit will have development, even if the overall narrative is decline. "But stuff is being built" isn't really a reasonable response to whether or not the city is still declining. Stuff is always being built, whether cities are growing or shrinking.

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.

[TTime]

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.

that was some tame destruction and you don't know what the future holds.

[G-DDT]

First off, props to the defenders. Also, I appreciate the post of those that can be bold without being too mired in technicality; so, take a tip from Master & Honky [[doesn't sound right-maybe because it sounds like "Master & Commander") for keeping it personal and observant.

What strikes me is how some portioned out neighborhoods persevere quite well. The Cheyenne Littlefield MacKenzie area or around U of D or Marygrove are fine examples [[I think that there is even an area of Warwick, perhaps?-as you go south towards Warrendale. That has it's own preservation club.). It's a shame though, that they have to be so sectioned off and the change in quality so stark from the obvious outlying areas. Now if places like Indian Village, Rosedale Park/Grandmont, and Mexicantown can claim and hold on to it's own preservation....

Look at Brightmoor. That used to be the armpit of the Westside Detroit area in 80's and 90's [[I should know, not only did I know some girls from there.... I had a schoolmate I bought grass off of from that area, and he might as well have been elected Ombudsman. The stories I could tell y'all of that dude...), and now it's sprung back in its own rustic, earthy, roll-up-your-sleeves DIY kind of way that really surprises me. If Highland Park can make a few improvements....there you go.

Granted, as someone pointed out, art, bike lanes, and overpriced hipster eateries are not really boosting things for us, but even the smallest little practical things [[okay like maybe the bike lanes) can make a beautiful difference by those willing to endure the friction, hassle, and uncertainty of it all. Take those guys behind "Sit On It Detroit" for example.

All I know is when I drive past someone in Dearborn and wave at them, I get nothing but a puzzled, misery-loving scowl. When I do the same in Detroit, folks immediately smile and wave without a hesitation. That is the attitude that starts from within to look at things a better way in the face of acknowledging all the adversity, bring out better things from within you, and keep the blight from setting in, the gentrification from undermining us, or the "creeping meatball-ism" from the East from seeping in and turning everyone into selfishly absorbed, numb, conformo, gizmo-gawkers.

...all that, and it would be nice to see a Kroger or 7-11 open up somewhere in the city limits [[thank you Meijer's for not being too afraid on that).

[erikd]

When it doesnt cost $4000 a year to insure a $1000 hooptie

My auto insurance dropped 55% two years ago. I'm now paying $1600 a year for full coverage, with $500 deductibles, on a new car in the 48207.

[3WC]

What amazes me about Detroit's "comeback" is that Duggan has not been charged with corruption by the feds. Yet.

[Detroit Stylin]

City Place Detroit.

http://www.cityplacedetroit.com/

Complete renovation of a 320-unit apartment complex. Not downtown proper. The building has a waiting list longer than your arm. Non-local developer who owns in many different large towns; now looks at Detroit not as a charity case but a solid way to make money in a real estate investment [[and did, as a matter of fact).

Yep this is my building. SO much better than when I first moved here in 2013. A Canadian group came through and sunk 10 mil into the building, gutted out every unit and renovated the whole building including adding a bunch of amenities.

[Honky Tonk]

Yep this is my building. SO much better than when I first moved here in 2013. A Canadian group came through and sunk 10 mil into the building, gutted out every unit and renovated the whole building including adding a bunch of amenities.

All they offer are 1 bedrooms? What's parking like, is it enclosed or an open lot?

[Zacha341]

Do you mean when these things become a reality or is it where you live!

Can You Name Something That Makes You Feel Detroit Is On A Comeback?

I no longer have to use The Club when I park my car @ night.
I can leave a pair of old gloves on the car seat, and they'll be there in the morning AND the passenger side window.
A For Sale building won't be stripped, gutted, and spray painted.
Owner of said building won't be fined $500 by the City for graffiti.
The police actually show up.
The City's major source of income won't be parking tickets and towing.
I can walk to the local pizza shop without being robbed @ gunpoint.

[Zacha341]

And when we really get a hold on the violence and high crime in the neighborhoods, which have increasingly involved children!

There will be a comeback when Detroit is growing again. Show me a population increase in the 2020 Census. Until then, it's hype.