Many strings attached to Ilitch School of Business gift to WSU

**swingline** · August-18-16, 01:58 PM

Since the completion of the Fox Theatre restoration thirty years ago, the Ilitch organization has never completed a single development project [[other than taxpayer funded stadia) despite multiple announcements over the decades about plans for various new office buildings, apartment buildings and renovations of existing buildings. Anybody else find it ironic that the Ilitch organization is now insisting on a strict deadline for the completion of the new WSU School of Business?

**Gistok** · August-18-16, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by swingline

Since the completion of the Fox Theatre restoration thirty years ago, the Ilitch organization has never completed a single development project [[other than taxpayer funded stadia) despite multiple announcements over the decades about plans for various new office buildings, apartment buildings and renovations of existing buildings. Anybody else find it ironic that the Ilitch organization is now insisting on a strict deadline for the new WSU School of Business?

Yes it is ironic.... the Ilitch's had a few years after they had the Kwamster defy the Detroit Historic Commission and tore down the Madison-Lenox to build something in its' place, and could then keep the $700K loan for the teardown to go towards a rebuild... but they got to keep the money anyway... and still retain a parking lot. After they announced the new Columbia Street Agora and Hard Rock Cafe... it was a few years before we realized that ain't happening... and also they had about 2 years to do something with the GAR Building before the city made them give it back due to inaction.

So yes... given their track record on missed deadlines... it is very Ironic...

P.S. CrashDummy... if you need help with Irony [[like on the Arena thread)... just ask... we're all here to learn!

**CrashDummy** · August-19-16, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

P.S. CrashDummy... if you need help with Irony [[like on the Arena thread)... just ask... we're all here to learn!

No, sorry, I'm still not seeing much irony there. But, it may help if you could post that recent and totally relevant article about the huge $10 million Columbia Street development that was supposed to happen. Just think, without all of those broken promises, we could actually have a Hard Rock Café. Man, Detroit would be so different today.

Now THAT'S some irony.

**Gistok** · August-21-16, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by CrashDummy

No, sorry, I'm still not seeing much irony there. But, it may help if you could post that recent and totally relevant article about the huge $10 million Columbia Street development that was supposed to happen. Just think, without all of those broken promises, we could actually have a Hard Rock Café. Man, Detroit would be so different today.

Now THAT'S some irony.

Nice try at twisting part of my conversation.... but congratulations on making it to 100 posts here, I just wonder how many were actually not trolling.

Ilitch couldn't even get the Hard Rock franchise.... it wasn't until years later that Peter Karmanos got one. and speaking of having issues... the Second City [[now known as City Theatre) in the Hockeytown Cafe Building.... they opted to move to the burbs... not because they wanted to... but because of issues with the Ilitch's. Even Masonic Temple couldn't deal with the Ilitch's when it comes to running their venue for them. Even Chelios' Chili took 10 years before a business could get into that building because the Ilitch's were uncooperative.

**Wesley Mouch** · August-22-16, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

Nice try at twisting part of my conversation.... but congratulations on making it to 100 posts here, I just wonder how many were actually not trolling.

Ilitch couldn't even get the Hard Rock franchise.... it wasn't until years later that Peter Karmanos got one. and speaking of having issues... the Second City [[now known as City Theatre) in the Hockeytown Cafe Building.... they opted to move to the burbs... not because they wanted to... but because of issues with the Ilitch's. Even Masonic Temple couldn't deal with the Ilitch's when it comes to running their venue for them. Even Chelios' Chili took 10 years before a business could get into that building because the Ilitch's were uncooperative.

Reps from Hard Rock Cafe were at the Ilitch/HRC press conference. It was authorized by HRC.

Second City was a cancellation of a franchise contract by Ilitch, not a move by Second City.

llitch left the Masonic Temple The Masons wanted him to stay -- as they weren't quite out of the woods. It was tough for the Masons to survive for a while, but Jack White's tax bill help, lower natural gas prices [[their single biggest expense), and resurgent wedding & corporate business pulled them through some dark financial times.

I have no contacts with Cheli's, so I don't know whether your impolite accusations are fair.

Ilitch's actions you cited wouldn't have been mine. But he made them. And he's still doing fine in spite of disagreeing with me and you.

They may have been bad moves, but AFAIK, he handled them with class and politely. You might learn some manners and judgement from him.

**dtowncitylover** · August-22-16, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

They may have been bad moves, but AFAIK, he handled them with class and politely. You might learn some manners and judgement from him.

LOL Learn manners and judgment from a man who has shown near disregard to the city he uses for his personal gain.

**Enduro** · August-22-16, 03:46 PM

Anyone see his Facebook post this morning? I'm not buying it. I can see him defaulting to "I'm being attacked!" before he'd look at the more likely suspects.

Motor City Muckraker

Yesterday at 11:12am ·

We've been running Motor City Muckraker for 5 years and were never hacked. After our series launched on Wayne State University, we were hacked, and all stories are unreadable. We have a security team looking into it.

**Gistok** · August-23-16, 04:41 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

They may have been bad moves, but AFAIK, he handled them with class and politely. You might learn some manners and judgement from him.

Wesley, you need to do better homework before calling me out on politeness... I didn't disrespect Ilitch... I merely told the truth....

Lets see how things have changed with the Ilitch's in the last 8 years... shall we? I have no clue when you got involved...
http://www.atdetroit.net/forum/messa...tml?1229353831

The "parking cartel" was at it back then, and NOTHING has changed where he razed otherwise functional buildings.

And as for the Women's Exchange Building..... the Wayne County Stadium Authority [[via Mr. Ilitch) wanted to Eminent Domain the Women's Exchange Building... so they could put up a DECORATIVE SIDEWALK for Comerica Park. Sound nice to you? Well the building owner went to court, and won a reprieve from being included in the demolition of the Stadia district. But they paid a price for that....

When the Madison-Lenox Hotel was being torn down.... it was on the National Trusts list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. That is an annual list that they come up with to save buildings that have historic and architectural reasons to be saved. In the over 25 years that the National Trust has had this annual list... the vast majority of buildings/districts have been saved. In fact there has only ever been ONE building in the quarter century that has been demolished during the year it was on that list..... namely Ilitch's Madison-Lenox Hotel. No other building in the country has been demolished during that time. Granted some of the buildings on the list were eventually demoed.... but Mr. Ilitch alone has the distinction of being the only businessman who had his building torn down during the year it was on that list [[2004-05)...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americ...angered_Places

And also.... the National Trusts president Richard Moe wanted to come to Detroit to talk with Mr. Ilitch.... but neither he nor his son Christopher Ilitch would even talk with the National Trust president... even on the phone. Does that sound like "good manners and judgement"?

The National Trust did get theirs though.... later that year... they put the United Artists Building [[with the roof badly leaking and all the windows painted over by vagrants and taggers).... on the front page of the National Trust For Historic Preservation magazine.

So Mr. Ilitch became known nationally for reasons other than historic preservation.

Now as for your information on Second City and Masonic Temple... do you have a printed source for your information? Or just anecdotal evidence?

**1953** · August-23-16, 02:32 PM

Oh, and tearing down the Madison Lennox was about the most ignorant thing someone could do. That great old building was rock solid and anchored an historic district.

**MSUguy** · August-25-16, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by swingline

Since the completion of the Fox Theatre restoration thirty years ago, the Ilitch organization has never completed a single development project [[other than taxpayer funded stadia) despite multiple announcements over the decades about plans for various new office buildings, apartment buildings and renovations of existing buildings. Anybody else find it ironic that the Ilitch organization is now insisting on a strict deadline for the completion of the new WSU School of Business?

The Ilitch's should be worshiping a life size statue of Dan Gilbert. He's done more in the past five years to increase their property values than they have over the past 30.