Quote Originally Posted by BankruptcyGuy View Post
This article is, with all respect to the author, in my opinion, stupid.

First of all, by the description and all intentions, the LCA was supposed to be the anchor of the area. That anchor opened in September of 2017. So it's been just about one year since the first piece of the puzzle is complete. And, the author's suggestion seems, they are supposed to be done with the rest of development in a year thereafter?

Next, let's analyze this gem of a paragraph:

"In recent years, Ilitch companies in and around The District leveled at least 30 buildings and currently maintain nearly 40 blighted or vacant structures. On blocks where historic buildings once stood, they have laid dozens of surface parking lots. Those are controversial because the Ilitches charge up to $50 per spot, and a vast stretch of once-dense downtown real estate is now a sea of Ilitch-owned parking spaces."

This idiocy requires lacking understanding [[and failing to seek to understand) the following:

1. Were the buildings there actually occupied? Hint: no.

2. Was the plan "build everything at once," expressed to anyone at any time? Hint: also no.

3. When you're tearing down a blighted building, and you create a parking lot, is it always going to be a parking lot, or can the owner build something there later? Hint: cmon.

This is a perfect example of an author coming up with a theory and seeking out facts to match the theory. There is a passing reference to the rest of the development in the area, which is massive. There is no discussion [[although I'm sure Midtown Detroit would have given them the data on a silver platter, for free no less) about the absorption period for office, retail or apartment space in the area. No discussion about whether bringing 40 buildings to market at one time would be financially wise [[no).

People can and do have different opinions about the LCA and whether the TIF was justified. But to say that the area hasn't improved with the LCA there is positively insane.

I agree that there is no reason to think the area should have sprung to life all at once, but there is very little happening at all that I can see. In particular, in an area where there seems to be a lot of housing absorption, there has been no residential development at all. There are, however, an increasing number of parking lots. Given that downtown has improved in general since the inception of the project, and considering the amount of public money sunk into District Detroit, there might be a bit more progress toward the vision which they originally presented.