"Time Square" Idea for The Lafayette Building

[bailey]

Why don't you pony up the money to demolish it???

Those that live in the City are ponying up the money...aren't they?

[GOAT]

I don't have to. I believe the city owns it and therefore it should go. If it is owned by a private person they should be made to fix it up or have it demolished. It can't sit that way forever!

Pick your battles folks not every building in Detroit can or will be saved. This is one that needs to be let go. There are others that are more important that need the money and time to be saved.

[ghettopalmetto]

I don't have to. I believe the city owns it and therefore it should go. If it is owned by a private person they should be made to fix it up or have it demolished. It can't sit that way forever!

Pick your battles folks not every building in Detroit can or will be saved. This is one that needs to be let go. There are others that are more important that need the money and time to be saved.

In the meantime, spend millions of dollars the City doesn't have in order to create a moonscape in which no one will ever want to invest. Because, dammit, *something* just *has* to be done *right now*, or by golly, George Jackson is just going to piss himself.

[bailey]

In the meantime, spend millions of dollars the City doesn't have in order to create a moonscape in which no one will ever want to invest. Because, dammit, *something* just *has* to be done *right now*, or by golly, George Jackson is just going to piss himself.

You still haven't explained how 13 years of abandonment equates to "hasty" or immediate action on demolition.

[heedus]

You still haven't explained how 13 years of abandonment equates to "hasty" or immediate action on demolition.

Or how having a large portion of your CBD dominated by large abandoned structures can be a catalyst for economic growth. Remember, it's the general public that is the driver of economic activity in a city, not a bunch of preservationists who rightly see value in abandoned structures. That is, you may be right about the intrinsic value these buildings hold, but at the end of the day, with a few exceptions, all that really matters is the general public's perspective. Let's put our eggs in the best baskets [[e.g., Book Tower, United Artists, National Theatre, etc.).

[DetroitDad]

No Dearie, this community is already interesting enough to walk around.

Sweetie, have you ever been to Foxtown, up the Cass Corridor, or past the 1200 block of Woodward in the Winter?

[Stosh]

Or how having a large portion of your CBD dominated by large abandoned structures can be a catalyst for economic growth. Remember, it's the general public that is the driver of economic activity in a city, not a bunch of preservationists who rightly see value in abandoned structures. That is, you may be right about the intrinsic value these buildings hold, but at the end of the day, with a few exceptions, all that really matters is the general public's perspective. Let's put our eggs in the best baskets [[e.g., Book Tower, United Artists, National Theatre, etc.).

I'd agree. Focusing the limited resources that are available within a few limited properties is probably the only sustainable, realistic route for preservation in this town. Increasingly, it looks as if Detroit will fall into recievership, increasingly so given the recent revelations about the DPS and the dedicated tax money taken by the City. That would probably gut the DEGC anyway, as the City subsidizes it to the tune of 1 million dollars a year.

So. I'd wonder whether the DEGC would have the financial will to do anything to this building anyway. Probably Tiger Stadium will be their last gasp for a while.

[LodgeDodger]

Sweetie, have you ever been to Foxtown, up the Cass Corridor, or past the 1200 block of Woodward in the Winter?

You're kidding me, right?

[Downtown diva]

i totally think that the times square on the lafayette building is a great idea.

how do I get on a committee for that?

We could even get one of the local networks to broadcast during new years eve!