Quote Originally Posted by royce View Post
I hope that these reclaimed areas will have a planned purpose. Just to be open space that is open to the public will do nothing to improve the area. For example, the area nearest Rivard Plaza has been fenced in. Ok, private developers can't build fancy high rises that most Detroiters can't afford, but what are Detroiters gonna do with land that's fenced in. Now, I assume that this area won't continue to be fenced in but what will go in its place? Will basketball or tennis courts go in the place? Will a skate park end up on one of these properties? That's planning. Leaving it untouched so that nature can take over these parcels would be a waste.

Also, where will the "beach" area go? Why has that not been revealed? Sounds nice if it's going to be an actual beach. Get rid of the "hill" area that's an eyesore in my view and create the beach there with real sand and access to the water.

Finally, I find it interesting that planning director Maurice Cox says that "the riverfront belongs to all Detroiters" yet the Orleans Landing development's starting prices are around $1300/month. How many Detroiters can afford that? So, these three parcels or 8 acres are now available to the public and not rich people. How many acres of the remaining riverfront are currently available? I'm not rich but it bothers me when people in Detroit want to keep rich people out of the city. New York City has thousands of millionaires who live in million dollar penthouses. Do the rest of New Yorkers fight to keep rich people out of their city? Only in Detroit do Detroiters not want rich people living in this city. It is this attitude that keeps Detroit from becoming a world class city in my view. And if one thinks that there is a racial tone to this, and there is, then consider that each of the three parcels taken away from the high-priced, high-rise developers were taken away from three black developers; one being Dave Bing and the other being Jerome Bettis.
The average New Yorker has asess to mAny of the same amenities in the city as the millionaires have but I'm Detroit the amenities would be privatized by and only for the rich. Look at how downtown is turning out to be. All of the restaurants that had opened are expensive to the average person daily taste