Idle musings on the future of the fail-jail site

What does the future holds for the 15 acre fail-jail site? A few months back Dan Gilbert said in an interview that he's working on plans for it and hopes to have a specific announcement this spring. Any guesses [[or tips) as to what he has up his sleeve? Here are a few of my guesses:

- Gilbert frequently mentions that downtown needs a tourist draw such as auto museum/theme park. Could something along those lines be part of a larger mixed use development? Who would/could fund such a project?
- Could it be a corporate announcement, a company moving to town and setting up shop? Or a big company already in town and expanding? Maybe one of the auto companies, maybe one the newcomers like Google, Linkedin, or Microsoft?
- Gilbert has a personal relationship with Bezos, and Amazon already occupies a large space downtown at 150 W Jefferson. One of the reasons Amazon selected NYC as HQ2 was because it was looking to expand into financial services, including mortgages. Hmm. With NYC now out of the HQ2 picture, would Amazon expand in Detroit to draft off of Quicken Loans? Or maybe set up a joint venture with Quicken headquartered on the site?
- Amazon just made a big equity investment in Rivian. Would Rivian expand or re-locate downtown, particularly if GM follows suits and invests in Rivian alongside Amazon as rumored?
- Gilbert recently bought Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, both Oakland CA based companies. Could a Detroit expansion or relocation be in the works?
- Could an announcement be much more mundane, simply as a reveal of mixed-use masterplan [[with renderings) with hotels, office, residential, and retail but with no corporate names, specific users, or financing attached?

What do you think?

Uh yeah, maybe.

Perhaps we can get a few ideas from Flint and the developers of "Autoworld"

I like the way you think Liger. Anything is possible at this stage and nothing can be assumed, confirmed or denied until those in real control decide so. What Detroit has to offer is hard to match in any other city in the US, and I will also go as far to argue internationally. We have affordable downtown real estate with a high tech workforce ready and able to meet demand.
It's a good time to be in Detroit where opportunities are abundant and sentiment is on the rise.

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Originally Posted by Liger

What does the future holds for the 15 acre fail-jail site? A few months back Dan Gilbert said in an interview that he's working on plans for it and hopes to have a specific announcement this spring. Any guesses [[or tips) as to what he has up his sleeve? Here are a few of my guesses:

- Gilbert frequently mentions that downtown needs a tourist draw such as auto museum/theme park. Could something along those lines be part of a larger mixed use development? Who would/could fund such a project?
- Could it be a corporate announcement, a company moving to town and setting up shop? Or a big company already in town and expanding? Maybe one of the auto companies, maybe one the newcomers like Google, Linkedin, or Microsoft?
- Gilbert has a personal relationship with Bezos, and Amazon already occupies a large space downtown at 150 W Jefferson. One of the reasons Amazon selected NYC as HQ2 was because it was looking to expand into financial services, including mortgages. Hmm. With NYC now out of the HQ2 picture, would Amazon expand in Detroit to draft off of Quicken Loans? Or maybe set up a joint venture with Quicken headquartered on the site?
- Amazon just made a big equity investment in Rivian. Would Rivian expand or re-locate downtown, particularly if GM follows suits and invests in Rivian alongside Amazon as rumored?
- Gilbert recently bought Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com, both Oakland CA based companies. Could a Detroit expansion or relocation be in the works?
- Could an announcement be much more mundane, simply as a reveal of mixed-use masterplan [[with renderings) with hotels, office, residential, and retail but with no corporate names, specific users, or financing attached?

What do you think?

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Your last possibility is the most likely, but I'd love to see 2, 3, or 4 happen.

At a more granular level, I hope that whatever happens, they split the site up by creating at least one through street [[Mechanic? Catherine?). Either way, they've earned a lot of trust for me with the Hudson's, City Modern, and Monroe block plans. Look forward to hearing more about this project.

"What Detroit has to offer is hard to match
in any other city in the US,
and I will also go as far to argue internationally." via SammyS

Detroit doesn't hold snail spit compared to a LOT of other locations.
It has MAJOR problems with demographics and infrastructure.
Many point towards an idiosyncratic land-usage growth factor.
The high taxes and poor services idea, still deters capital to this day.
It also has odd strict occupational licensing laws.

As we've seen, they go elsewhere, anywhere, BUT to Detroit.

https://www.bedrockdetroit.com/property/gratiot-site/

I imagine the big hold up is waiting to see what MDOT is going to do with the 375 corridor. Obviously that will have a big impact on how the site is built out.

Also, unless Amazon or someone else changes their mind and needs a big site here, Gilbert has a little bit of time to focus on the Monroe Blocks project and gradually work east to the fail jail. Basically, there isn’t a big rush to do something with the site at the moment.

I am impressed that Amazon invested so substantially in Rivian. That is
a positive sign. I wonder if there is a market for attractive electric trucks
in the $65k range. They have a wonderful opportunity by taking over the
assembly plant in Normal, Illinois.

As Dexlin posted, some renderings have been on the Bedrock site for some time. Looks like a standard mix of residential, commercial and park space, along with the removal of 375. I much prefer that instead of some gaudy auto museum or theme park.

Make it into a --- Lithium Ion battery --- Recycling site.

With all those autonomous , electric vehicles we'll be driving in 2020,
Lord knows we'll have to swap out the batteries quick like, to keep on trucking !!!

And for all those haters out there - It's a thing, complete with a link

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/environment/2019/02/15/recycling-lithium-batteries/39067379/

While Ligers do have magical properties, I feel in this instance, Ligerdomus is slightly off base.

Everyone knows it will become the world hq for banked track roller derby.

Flat track is so last meme ago and the new haughtness is a return to the bruising days of yesteryear.

Banked mayhem.

Probably going to be an In & Out Burger.

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Originally Posted by O3H

Make it into a --- Lithium Ion battery --- Recycling site.

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I doubt anyone in city government would allow the land [[that last sold for $34 million when empty) to be rezoned industrial, especially with all the empty industrial land available in the city. :eek:

This is the largest remaining empty parcel of land [[besides the Macedonian Parking Cartel land) in downtown Detroit.

I appreciate those comments about the possible uses of the failed jail site. It sure appears that large firms believe that young people with IT and AI skills want to live in an affordable urban environments. Presumably that was one reason Ford is moving into the Michigan Central depot. Maybe
a large firm will locate there.
Is there more to the Rivian story. First they get a major capital investment from the Saudis and now from Amazon. And they have access to the modern Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois. Is there really a market for $65k electric pick-up trucks. Of course, that is not an excessive price
for a pick-up truck now.

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Originally Posted by Gistok

This is the largest remaining empty parcel of land [[besides the Macedonian Parking Cartel land) in downtown Detroit.

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And besides Hart Plaza, of course.