Now that the roads are open in the east riverfront, will developement finally happen?

[royce]

If you drive through the east riverfront, you will see that the roads are now open to traffic. Does this mean that they are also open to development? Already a good portion of Atwater will be reserved for a sewage treatment basin, with no possibility of anything being built on top, except grass. No doubt this is the city's idea of excellent use of valuable riverfront property. However, I beg to ask these questions, "Is Detroit riverfront property really valuable, and does the city know how to develop it to its fullest potential? Clearly, I have reason to doubt that the city can. My first doubt begins with the sewage treatment basin. Why couldn't this thing be built south of Atwater where you have an area designed to just have grass on top? Atwater where this sewage basin is to go should be lined with retail shops or residential development, not land that the public will never have access to. I thought the excitement behind getting rid of the cement silos was to open riverfront land to the citizens of Detroit, either in a public or private way? I guess the city sees this sewage basin as taking up just a small part of the riverfront. I, however, disagree.

My second doubt has to do with parking lots that dot the east riverfront. Is a parking lot behind Rivard Plaza the best use of that land? Couldn't parking along the south side of Atwater solve that issue? Also, look at how much space the parking lot for Chene Park takes up. Moving Chene Park amphitheater to the Ford Auditorium site would solve that issue. In addition, there is a fenced in parking lot across from the marina at Milliken Park. There's also an unofficial, and unpaved parking lot next to it. Will it be available for development? And finally regarding parking lots, can't the RiverPlace complex and Diamond Jack's boat tours build a parking deck along Atwater, or even partially over it, to free up land for a residential/commercial complex along the RiverWalk?

My third issue concerns the distance of Atwater to the river itself. The distance is still close to two football fields long. At least from Rivard Street to Orleans there is room for a closer street to the river. In an old artist's rendering done for GM's plans to develop commercial and residential east of the RenCen, a new street was shown to run from St. Antoine to Rivard. This street was deemed necessary for development. I agree and I would take it one step further by extending this street to Orleans Street just north of the current state park and RiverWalk. Tearing down that big hill that obstructs the view of the river at Orleans would also be good for development.

Finally, my last issue is with the riverfront properties that were given to developers but were never developed. What is to happen to the properties on the east riverfront south of Atwater that were given to Mayor Bing [[Watermark), former running back Jerome Bettis [[RiverEast), and the developer of @water? Is this land still in their hands? What are their plans now? Should new developers have an opportunity to develop the failed sites? Should new plans for development be negotiated? What will the city do? Again, is riverfront property in Detroit really valuable and does the city know how to develop it to its fullest potential? I remain skeptical.