Michigan Central Depot ideas
It seems like the answer to every blighted building in Detroit is either tear it down or completely rehab it. It appears that a complete rehab of the Michigan Central Depot is not likely in this economy and in this city, but sudden demolition is not the answer either. This thread is all about the third, fourth and fifth options.
What are your ideas for the Michigan Central Depot? Feel free to post any out-of-the-box, off-the-wall idea that comes to mind. Yeah, these will probably be just pie-in-the-sky thoughts, but we as a community should be putting a lot more thought into what we can do with something as big as Michigan Central Depot before we demolish it.
My idea, turn it into a ruin park like Lowell originally suggested the city do with all of its abandoned skyscrapers. Secure the building enough so people can walk in certain places of it, even let them go all the way to the roof and take in the views. It's already a tourist attraction, why not capitalize on it. Let Metro Parks run it since there isn't a Metro Park in the city and we pay for parks that are mostly in the exurbs. Let artists put temporary works of art on it as way of beautifying it and making it something we can be proud of at least some of the time.
That's my crazy idea. What's yours?
Mixed use around Roosevelt Park.
-Start with the buildings along Michigan. What is popular for rentals right now is cheap apartments above store fronts. New buildings and rehabbing what is on those two blocks between 14th and 17th could be done by large developers or individual entrepreneurs with plans for the retail space. The retail that would need to go here would have to be complement each other, similar to how the auto shops already on Michigan Ave. provides customers to the restaurants while they wait for their cars to be fixed.
-The park would have to be made into a good landscaped park again, serving multiple uses. Playgrounds, rentable picnic shelters, and athletic track stations could be built for Corktown residents.
-Small starter single family housing, row houses, and brownstone style homes would be built surrounding the park on the East and West.
-The old book depository could have a many uses that should be explored based on the economy. A grocery store could be possible, as could a parking garage, lofts, or warehouse space. Demolition could also be an option. if the building is that bad, and the space could be utilized for neighborhood expansion in the future. The North end of the warehouse block could be utilized for parking or more homes fronting the new Roosevelt Park.
-Rose Street should be eliminated to provide an extra block of housing.
-The old hotel on 14th could be used for apartment space or a community center, but demolition of the back two wings may be better off demolished for secured parking or gardening/play space, and only the front portion saved.
-Restoration of Michigan Central Station itself would be dependant on the success of the surrounding area, and would be founded by the rent and sale of the other properties surrounding the park. Ideally the first floor station would be renovated first, occupied by multi-use office/work space at first, but eventually switching to retail later on.
-The waiting room would be rented out similar to the GM Winter Garden for events, and the concourse would be used as a grand ballroom for concerts and wedding receptions. It may or may not be possible to install room dividers in these large spaces.
-The front entrance of the station should be used for drop offs and some parking, an area should be provided for wedding or other gatherings.
-The rear entrance should be accessible to parking by a mezzanine, with the rail tracks no longer abutting up to the structure.
-It may be possible for housing or storage space in the empty rail lots, or parking.
-The tower itself should be used for office and residential mixed, and provide an atmosphere similar to a Western Lafayette Park.
-Quite garden trails for seniors to walk, or for dog walking should surround the lower lying areas of the building, as well as a pool or rental picnic shelter in the old cab stand area. Parking should occupy the streetcar area to the East.
When building an urban neighborhood, the following should be considered:
- The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or memorable street corner. A transit stop would be located at this center.
- Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk of the center, an average of roughly 1/4 mile or 1,320 feet [[0.4 km).
- There are a variety of dwelling types — usually houses, rowhouses, and apartments — so that younger and older people, singles, and families, the poor, and the wealthy may find places to live.
- At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops and offices of sufficiently varied types to supply the weekly needs of a household.
- A small ancillary building or garage apartment is permitted within the backyard of each house. It may be used as a rental unit or place to work [[for example, an office or craft workshop).
- An elementary school is close enough so that most children can walk from their home.
- There are small playgrounds accessible to every dwelling — not more than a tenth of a mile away.
- Streets within the neighborhood form a connected network, which disperses traffic by providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination.
- The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by rows of trees. This slows traffic, creating an environment suitable for pedestrians and bicycles.
- Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close to the street, creating a well-defined outdoor room.
- Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, usually accessed by alleys.
- Certain prominent sites at the termination of street vistas or in the neighborhood center are reserved for civic buildings. These provide sites for community meetings, education, and religious or cultural activities.
- The neighborhood is organized to be self-governing. A formal association debates and decides matters of maintenance, security, and physical change. Taxation is the responsibility of the larger community.