‘Detroit is the new Detroit' — and real estate developers talk about why that's good
Is Detroit the new Brooklyn?
"No," David Blaszkiewicz told a real estate conference Wednesday. "It's not the new Brooklyn at all. Detroit is the new Detroit."
Blaszkiewicz, president of Invest Detroit and CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, was one of dozens of speakers who addressed Detroit as part of a two-day real estate conference titled "Detroit: Forged by Innovation."
It marks the 25th anniversary of the real estate forum, hosted by the Urban Land Institute and the University of Michigan. Crain's is a sponsor of the event.
"We're always comparing ourselves to other cities, but we are unique," Blaszkiewicz told a crowd of 440 people. "But I see this as a city that is coming into its own, and we're creating a framework now for a new Detroit."
The real estate forum is held in a different city in Michigan each year, putting a spotlight on how the city is developing and how it is perceived by people in the particular city and outside it.
Bringing an outside perspective to Detroit was Tony Goldman, CEO of New York City-based Goldman Properties. He made his name by redeveloping decayed buildings in the South Beach section of Miami and the SoHo neighborhood in New York.
Goldman told the local developers to "think big" and not be limited by goals that seem unattainable. He called for the city of Detroit to give away vacant homes to teachers, artists and police officers and for public parks such as the Dequindre Cut to be turned into "world-class public spaces."
Goldman was emotional when he talked about the Heidelberg Project in Detroit.
"To see something so beautiful, literally created from nothing, very much moved me," he said.
With the wealth of historic buildings in Detroit, he said, the city needs to create the environment that will excite people and make them want to live, work and invest in the city.
"Detroit can be like Berlin and be a new frontier for artists and creative people to live," he said.
In other cities, Goldman has jumped in by purchasing as many as 20 buildings at a time. Asked whether he'll make such a move in Detroit, he didn't say yes — but didn't say no, either.
Continued at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...FREE/111119985