Gilbert's Plan: Downtown Detroit as a Pedestrian Paradise

[NativeDetroiter]

Was anyone else a little disappointed by the number of retailers that were announced? I was expecting a few more big names in the announcement. Changing the landscape of downtown seems like something that would be done after more businesses are in place. This plan seems like it will be hit or miss, but I hope it is successful.

[Delray]

I know I'm always the downer around here, but I'll say it anyway.

Isn't there something strange about this?

A developer buys all these downtown buildings, each of which likely gets a tax abatement attached to it. This is a way of transferring the money from a poor city to a rich landowner.

The city lacks the wealth to come up with an ambitious plan for downtown, largely because of tax abatements and subsidies to going concerns and developers.

And then the private developer unveils the plan he'd prefer for downtown, which will enrich him further, with no public input into the design.

Bless or damn Gilbert's intentions, doesn't this seem a little too Delta City?

In a word, yes.

The arrogance of one man "planning" the core of the city, in utter ignorance of the 700,000 people who live there is breath-taking. What makes it worse is that [[1) the media buy it hook, line, and sinker and pass it along in happy talk, and [[2) people who should know better miss the big picture and focus instead on whether the streets would be too narrow or the windows the wrong size or whatever.

News flash: Detroit is an oveerwhelmingly African-American big city, unique in America in that regard. It is chock full of irreproducable African-American historical, cultural, religious, social, and other institutions and attractions. Why not capitalize upon that? Why, instead, try to "transform" downtown Detroit into yet another boho hangout, complete with "Pineapple Republic," sidewalk cafes, and whatnot?

Furthermore, if you want to dream big, fine. But at least talk about it in terms of how it will benefit the people who actually live here. Talk about it in terms of providing jobs, or increasing property values and thereby helping finance better city services [[ignoring the details about tax breaks, BIDs, etc.--money is fungible).

This is not Dan Gilbert's city, and the rest of us just happen to live in it.

Jeez!

[TexasT]

In a word, yes.

The arrogance of one man "planning" the core of the city, in utter ignorance of the 700,000 people who live there is breath-taking. What makes it worse is that [[1) the media buy it hook, line, and sinker and pass it along in happy talk, and [[2) people who should know better miss the big picture and focus instead on whether the streets would be too narrow or the windows the wrong size or whatever.

News flash: Detroit is an oveerwhelmingly African-American big city, unique in America in that regard. It is chock full of irreproducable African-American historical, cultural, religious, social, and other institutions and attractions. Why not capitalize upon that? Why, instead, try to "transform" downtown Detroit into yet another boho hangout, complete with "Pineapple Republic," sidewalk cafes, and whatnot?

Furthermore, if you want to dream big, fine. But at least talk about it in terms of how it will benefit the people who actually live here. Talk about it in terms of providing jobs, or increasing property values and thereby helping finance better city services [[ignoring the details about tax breaks, BIDs, etc.--money is fungible).

This is not Dan Gilbert's city, and the rest of us just happen to live in it.

Jeez!

Good thing it isn't just one man; it is several public/private organizations and nonprofits, including the Downtown Detroit Partnership and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.

And while Detroit is majority black:

1) that has been the case for a short segment of its overall history so I have little issue with restoring the public spaces to their intended purposes instead of "capitalizing" on the "black city" status [[at least downtown). And is there some law against black folk enjoying public spaces too? I was down on the Riverwalk and in Greektown today and saw plenty of us [[majority of people out there) enjoying the beautiful day. So making our parks downtown beautiful does serve Detroit's community. This isnt Grosse Pointe - all are welcome at our parks.

2) the majority of the metro region is not black. It is time to think regionally. This downtown is not just for Detroiters and shouldnt be treated that way.

[canuck]

Absolutely right TexasT.

If there is one element out of the bag of surprises Gilbert held for Detroit; this may be the most positive one; downtown becoming the core of the region again. To dismiss this only hurts the region. I dont care if he is the billionaire with enough chutzpah to do what he says he can do or not. The point is, the city needs his input because too many people of means have sat on the sidelines while he at least is treating Detroiters to what they deserve, an oasis downtown; a place to promote the arts, particularly Detroit artists will have extra space among other goodies.

Delray, if you think the status quo is better than this, explain why, or else what needs to be done. I dont think Gilbert is using the city as his own playground if that is your intended comment.

Besides, out of the bag of surprises, there will be hit or misses, maybe a Five Guys will open which a lot of people on here might like and close after a year, and another store will do better next to it. You cant hit and strike out all at once, there is room to maneuver. The question is whether the Taubmans and Karmanos can up the game a little, which I think they will soon enough, IMO.

[Richard]

I'm not sure if I missed it, but how much is this costing and who is paying for it?

EastsideAl and others can look around and answer the question of who is paying for it.

[stasu1213]

In a word, yes.

The arrogance of one man "planning" the core of the city, in utter ignorance of the 700,000 people who live there is breath-taking. What makes it worse is that [[1) the media buy it hook, line, and sinker and pass it along in happy talk, and [[2) people who should know better miss the big picture and focus instead on whether the streets would be too narrow or the windows the wrong size or whatever.

News flash: Detroit is an oveerwhelmingly African-American big city, unique in America in that regard. It is chock full of irreproducable African-American historical, cultural, religious, social, and other institutions and attractions. Why not capitalize upon that? Why, instead, try to "transform" downtown Detroit into yet another boho hangout, complete with "Pineapple Republic," sidewalk cafes, and whatnot?

Furthermore, if you want to dream big, fine. But at least talk about it in terms of how it will benefit the people who actually live here. Talk about it in terms of providing jobs, or increasing property values and thereby helping finance better city services [[ignoring the details about tax breaks, BIDs, etc.--money is fungible).

This is not Dan Gilbert's city, and the rest of us just happen to live in it.

Jeez!

I am glad that someone such as Dan Gilbert had come along to transform downtown into a more enjoyable place to work, shop, live, and play. He had said that some of the plans for downtown had been on the shelf for years. It will be a city that people of all races will enjoy. What benefit did residents received from downtown 10 or 20 years ago? Would you prefer the type of stores that is on the Avenue of Fashion to line Merchants Row? Those stores are not pleasing to everyone unless a person is into African art. weaves, trendy cheap clothing, etc. One could travel to Northland Mall for those items and services.

[stasu1213]

Absolutely right TexasT.

If there is one element out of the bag of surprises Gilbert held for Detroit; this may be the most positive one; downtown becoming the core of the region again. To dismiss this only hurts the region. I dont care if he is the billionaire with enough chutzpah to do what he says he can do or not. The point is, the city needs his input because too many people of means have sat on the sidelines while he at least is treating Detroiters to what they deserve, an oasis downtown; a place to promote the arts, particularly Detroit artists will have extra space among other goodies.

Delray, if you think the status quo is better than this, explain why, or else what needs to be done. I dont think Gilbert is using the city as his own playground if that is your intended comment.

Besides, out of the bag of surprises, there will be hit or misses, maybe a Five Guys will open which a lot of people on here might like and close after a year, and another store will do better next to it. You cant hit and strike out all at once, there is room to maneuver. The question is whether the Taubmans and Karmanos can up the game a little, which I think they will soon enough, IMO.

Karmanos had allowed pop up shops to open in the Compuware building. The only downfall is that they are only allowed to open in the empty space that is inside the building and not the empty storefront that is on Monroe. Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop had said that they wanted to open a pop up shop in the empty space on Monroe with street entrance. They were at the last minute that the space was going to use for some art exhibit and that the bike shop has to be inside. They rarely had any customers for nobody, with the exception of Compuware employees, knew that the bike shop exists. Karmanos, and others had made it so difficult for retail to exist downtown.

[JAYCR]

Obviously, anything going on here is a feel-good story. A few shops will be nice if not particularly useful to the majority of citizens. The thing that gets my back up is that Gilbert insists on including PUBLIC space in his plans. I don't give a rat's ass what he puts in his buildings because I can choose to go there or not, but I feel like making sweeping decisions about traffic flow, public space etc. is a little too much.

[NativeDetroiter]

In a word, yes.

The arrogance of one man "planning" the core of the city, in utter ignorance of the 700,000 people who live there is breath-taking. What makes it worse is that [[1) the media buy it hook, line, and sinker and pass it along in happy talk, and [[2) people who should know better miss the big picture and focus instead on whether the streets would be too narrow or the windows the wrong size or whatever.

News flash: Detroit is an oveerwhelmingly African-American big city, unique in America in that regard. It is chock full of irreproducable African-American historical, cultural, religious, social, and other institutions and attractions. Why not capitalize upon that? Why, instead, try to "transform" downtown Detroit into yet another boho hangout, complete with "Pineapple Republic," sidewalk cafes, and whatnot?

Furthermore, if you want to dream big, fine. But at least talk about it in terms of how it will benefit the people who actually live here. Talk about it in terms of providing jobs, or increasing property values and thereby helping finance better city services [[ignoring the details about tax breaks, BIDs, etc.--money is fungible).

This is not Dan Gilbert's city, and the rest of us just happen to live in it.

Jeez!

I agree with you. Detroit should not strive to be another Birmingham or Royal Oak, not that there is anything wrong with those places. Our downtown should be more diverse than those places are and not just in terms of visitors. Downtown Detroit should have a diverse group of business owners and help improve the economic situation of people of all ethnicities. We should strive to do what many other cities have failed at. There should also be plenty of public input in regards to his plans to change the landscape of downtown. However, with what's going on with the mayor and city council there doesn't seem to be any checks or balances in place.

[TexasT]

I agree with you. Detroit should not strive to be another Birmingham or Royal Oak, not that there is anything wrong with those places. Our downtown should be more diverse than those places are and not just in terms of visitors. Downtown Detroit should have a diverse group of business owners and help improve the economic situation of people of all ethnicities. We should strive to do what many other cities have failed at. There should also be plenty of public input in regards to his plans to change the landscape of downtown. However, with what's going on with the mayor and city council there doesn't seem to be any checks or balances in place.

I hav personally done volunteer work with some of these organizations to get public input on these public spaces. As noted above, this isnt just Gilbert but several public/private organizations amd nonprofit at work. Gilbert is pushing it, as head of the DDP, but it isnt just him.

[p69rrh51]

Best spoof of the day so far.

[[Leaked) Picture of the Day: "Hudson's to be Rebuilt as World's Tallest Building!"

CONFIRMED: Gilbert to construct record-breaking 150 story tower on historic Hudson's site.

[bailey]

News flash: Detroit is an oveerwhelmingly African-American big city, unique in America in that regard. It is chock full of irreproducable African-American historical, cultural, religious, social, and other institutions and attractions. Why not capitalize upon that? Why, instead, try to "transform" downtown Detroit into yet another boho hangout, complete with "Pineapple Republic," sidewalk cafes, and whatnot?

This is not Dan Gilbert's city, and the rest of us just happen to live in it.

I could have sworn Detroit was home to the Nation's largest museum dedicated exclusively to African American history. What more should be done to "capitalize" on the AA history than that? How's that going?

It's Dan Gilbert's city because the rest who live in it have ceded it to the Illitch/Gilbert/Karmanos/Penskes through benign neglect.

[AuburnSpeedster]

Best spoof of the day so far.

[[Leaked) Picture of the Day: "Hudson's to be Rebuilt as World's Tallest Building!"

CONFIRMED: Gilbert to construct record-breaking 150 story tower on historic Hudson's site.

Haha I rather liked that prank, even though the parking structure can't hold more than, I think, 18 stories. But we can dream. Something of that size would just look bizarre in the skyline, though!

[rbdetsport]

At least the tallest tower in the city would be in the center of downtown. It would make the skyline much more interesting and make the RenCen look like slightly less of a behemoth! hahah

[ghettopalmetto]

I know I'm always the downer around here, but I'll say it anyway.

Isn't there something strange about this?

A developer buys all these downtown buildings, each of which likely gets a tax abatement attached to it. This is a way of transferring the money from a poor city to a rich landowner.

The city lacks the wealth to come up with an ambitious plan for downtown, largely because of tax abatements and subsidies to going concerns and developers.

And then the private developer unveils the plan he'd prefer for downtown, which will enrich him further, with no public input into the design.

Bless or damn Gilbert's intentions, doesn't this seem a little too Delta City?

Hey, why not? After all, this is the guy who single-handedly proposed casino gaming in Ohio, wrote the laws and tax rates in his own favor, and got it placed on a statewide referendum ballot [[where it passed thanks to his own promotion of its alleged benefits). Now Danny gets to vacuum money out of Ohio into his own pockets.

This is what happens when you desperately rely on billionaires to save a city.

[canuck]

Hey, why not? After all, this is the guy who single-handedly proposed casino gaming in Ohio, wrote the laws and tax rates in his own favor, and got it placed on a statewide referendum ballot [[where it passed thanks to his own promotion of its alleged benefits). Now Danny gets to vacuum money out of Ohio into his own pockets.

This is what happens when you desperately rely on billionaires to save a city.

Youse definitely have a megavalid point there gp. I'm thinking ofthe poor sonsabidges in Moscow, Russia right now who have 84 billionaires to contend with. Back in the US, back in the USSR, dont know how lucky you are boy...

So we are at a point where the world's former communist powerhouses have become capitalist fortresses with huge discrepancies btwn rich and poor, and the same muzzling powers as before, practically. Great for competition.