What is going on at Red Wings arena site?

[emu steve]

If Illitch was willing to sell, I bet it would get redeveloped, even if the arena weren't going to be there. It's close enough to downtown and Midtown that development would reach there in a few years anyways. There aren't many big buildings left. This one would get fixed.

Wow, do I disagree with you.

The old sports-facilities-doesn't-cause-development [[i.e., they'd happen anyways, but would any of us still be alive????).

That area was dead, dead, dead.

East of Woodward was dead, dead, dead.

All of a sudden west of Woodward is alive and folks fighting over what will or will not go where.

And all of a sudden EAST of Woodward is alive and I read plans for multiple nice housing projects, maybe a hotel [[across from FF), renovated Brewster Wheeler, etc.

Where was all of this THREE years ago? Why now? Why not then?

Might it not just be the new arena and M-1 which has defined the area [[the arena helps define the 'entertainment' [[and commercial) part of the area West of Woodward, and East of Woodward seems to be defined as a coming residential area.