The Albert

[hybridy]

http://www.thealbertcapitolpark.com/

http://vimeo.com/88779497

[EastsideAl]

So, "The Albert" is really the old Griswold Building [[it took nearly halfway through that video to figure that out). I thought that was supposed to be a seniors building? What did they do with all the old folks in order to make the building 'safe' for those pretty young people with herringbone parquet floors and quartz countertops?

[Danny]

So, "The Albert" is really the old Griswold Building [[it took nearly halfway through that video to figure that out). I thought that was supposed to be a seniors building? What did they do with all the old folks in order to make the building 'safe' for those pretty young people with herringbone parquet floors and quartz countertops?

Just about two years ago. One of Dan Gibert's business ventures brought the Griswold Building. They wanted turn that building into to luxury condos so those poor senior citizens have 30 days to pack up and leave. Windgate Mgt. who owns several apt. buildings on Washington Blvd. allow them to stay. So did others relocated themselves to other apt units.

See folks that what it called gentrification in action!

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

So, "The Albert" is really the old Griswold Building [[it took nearly halfway through that video to figure that out). I thought that was supposed to be a seniors building? What did they do with all the old folks in order to make the building 'safe' for those pretty young people with herringbone parquet floors and quartz countertops?

According to the spiffy video, the flooring is actually in a "chevron" pattern. Sort of like our Chevron gas signs out here in CA.

[DetroitPlanner]

Old people make the biggest thugs. I got a @$$ whooping once from some old broad with a walker. I learned my lesson though.

[Danny]

So that's what Gilberttown folks did! Kick out the once subsidized poor folks from the Griswold Building. Gentrify it and sell it skinny jean young professionals and yuppies for a high price.

[Danny]

for young professionals and yuppies working for Dan Gilbert. The Griswold building units is problably selling like hot cakes. It's a real estate boom in an area where DEAD [[C)KRAK HEADS and folks waiting for D-DOT busses.

It's that building 90% sold or is it bust?

[Danny]

Old people make the biggest thugs. I got a @$$ whooping once from some old broad with a walker. I learned my lesson though.

That old broad probably lived in Capitol Park long ago before you. But it was booted out by Gilberttown folks and cussing at rich folks today.

[Eber Brock Ward]

FWIW, Danny, the buyer/owner of the Building is the Sachse folks from Birmingham, not Gilbert or one of his many subsidiaries.

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...apartments.php

[Danny]

FWIW, Danny, the buyer/owner of the Building is the Sachse folks from Birmingham, not Gilbert or one of his many subsidiaries.

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...apartments.php

One of their offices is in Downtown Detroit leased by Dan Gilbert and they recently joined their ventures. Corporations is not a solid entity. It a liquid entity.

They can trade a piece of blank white piece a paper for stocks and make a billion dollar profit or lose it.

[downtownguy]

...Corporations is not a solid entity. It a liquid entity...

Corporations are people, too.

[Danny]

Corporations are people, too.

By owning capital property by means of liquidity from stocks, bonds and dividends. They turn properties and products into profits, compete for locations and bust small businesses and other environmental concerns out of their way.

[KJ5]

Hey! Hey! Hey!
Oh wait - Fat Albert and the Cosby kids are low income people that are being gentrified out of the market by rich yuppies.

[mikeg19]

Out with the old, in with the new

Can't make an omelette if you don't break a few eggs


Sorry, I can't think of any other good ones right now.

[Hamtragedy]

The old Grand River bus line began in front of the building. Even in the eighties, I remember cutting between the buildings to get to Capital Park from Woodward, and looking up and seeing all the windows open, tattered shades and all, wondering "who lives here, and why can't they fix the screens?"

[dtowncitylover]

Who would own the footage shown at :36? That would be cool to see more of!

[nain rouge]

"THE BEAUTIFUL CANOPY" makes it worth it. It's not a bad move, really. The idea is to make Downtown Detroit Royal Oak 2, and they might just have a shot, which is a certain improvement over what existed before. If they're really going to help fix up Capitol Park, that alone is huge. That was probably the biggest mistake downtown since Hart Plaza. It's like someone knocked down the walls and tore the roof off of an outdated Greyhound Station and deemed it a public space.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

It's like someone knocked down the walls and tore the roof off of an outdated Greyhound Station and deemed it a public space.

I think I am in the minority, but I kinda like the look and feel of Capitol Park. Yes, it's a little short of beautiful green space. But it is also thankfully much less full of panhandlers and pigeons than it used to be. And I think it was not intended to be a garden for the neighborhood so much as a patio. And when the surrounding buildings are reno'd and filled up, it will serve that purpose. I like it.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I think I am in the minority, but I kinda like the look and feel of Capitol Park. Yes, it's a little short of beautiful green space. But it is also thankfully much less full of panhandlers and pigeons than it used to be. And I think it was not intended to be a garden for the neighborhood so much as a patio. And when the surrounding buildings are reno'd and filled up, it will serve that purpose. I like it.

I agree - I think Capitol Park is a nice little area. It has a interesting unique feel and is well defined as a distinct space.

I disagree somewhat on your point that the Griswold having been senior housing was a bad move. At the time, other buildings were being left vacant, so I'm not sure there was a better option. However, for the recent residents the timing was definitely working against them, and I'm sure having to move was a hardship for many. It certainly is nicer to see vacant buildings rehabbed as opposed to occupied ones being improved. Now if only the vacant buildings around the park would see some action.

There's no reason to think that many of the residents hadn't been homeowners when they were younger. Not every senior can or should be living in a single family home.

[jaytheory]

royal oak 2, yuck, ill be selling and leaving if that happens. if people wanted to live in royal oak wouldnt they just live in royal oak?

[corktownyuppie]

royal oak 2, yuck, ill be selling and leaving if that happens. if people wanted to live in royal oak wouldnt they just live in royal oak?

Downtown isn't going to be Royal Oak 2. But parts of it might look like Royal Oak 2.

Detroit needs more money. That means they need more people....specifically people who have money. The people who have money want to live in the nicest parts of the city. If I'm living in a 4,000 sq ft penthouse in the nicest part of the city on my income alone, that's a problem because those need to go to the people who make 2-3x as much as me in order to have a healthy tax base.

Now I agree that there need to be affordable housing options for the poor and middle class. I'm totally in favor of that. And I'm also ok with the idea that if public money is used to develop property, then it's totally legit to mandate affordable housing requirements with that money.

And I'm also ok with the idea that if you are displacing 200 low income residents, you be required to develop an affordable housing replacement option.

But that's not the beef I'm hearing here. People don't like that the demographic composition of the city is changing. I have no patience for that.

Of course the composition needs to change. We are trying to grow the city by adding people from outside. I don't care if they're white, black, Bangladeshi, Polish, Arab, or whatever. They just need to have money, because that's what the city needs.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

The displacement of the senior citizens is actually a further argument for home ownership. When you don't own your home, the actual owner can rightfully make you leave when your tenancy no longer suits their interests, pursuant to the terms of the contract. Locating income-challenged individuals downtown, where it has been hoped for 40 years that a rebound would occur, was also bad planning. Should the rebound occur [[which it is), it provides incentives for the property owners to put out the existing tenants for ones who can spend more money. The fault lies not with the property owners who want to make money [[as does everyone in the city of Detroit, including the posters on this board), but rather with A) poorly planned housing policy and B) people who made life choices that did not put control of their later years in their own hands. Thankfully, no one has been rendered homeless by this situation. But renting is never more than temporary. I can't fathom how it is an unpleasant surprise that temporary comes to an end.

[EastsideAl]

B) people who made life choices that did not put control of their later years in their own hands.

It may just be your youth, and maybe you're not aware of it, but you can really come off like a cold-hearted, judgmental, condescending jerk sometimes. How in the world do you know what "life choices" people made, or even what life options were available for them?

You seem completely unaware that a lot of people work hard all of their lives, act right, make decent decisions, and still end up with the short end of the stick. Particularly here in Detroit. Or of the basic American history that many people, obviously through no fault of their own, were born with a skin color that deeply limited their options. Particularly so for people of the age of these seniors.

As for home ownership, this being Detroit I assure that many, if not most, of the seniors in these buildings have been home owners. Certainly the two people I was close with who lived in downtown seniors apartments were. But home ownership, particularly in Detroit, is often not the avenue to solvency and security that your American dreams imagine it to be. In fact, it can be exactly the opposite.

But you just go right on believing in your libertarian fantasy land that all bad circumstances people find themselves in are a result of their bad decisions and lack of personal responsibility [[because, hey, otherwise they'd be well-off like me!). Since it seems somehow to allow you to feel perfectly comfortable with old people who've lived and worked in this city most of their lives being summarily thrown out to an uncertain future, so that they can be replaced with a "better mix" of more "active" younger and much more fashionable [[and rich) people.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

It may just be your youth, and maybe you're not aware of it, but you can really come off like a cold-hearted, judgmental, condescending jerk sometimes..

I'm not particularly young. That's my personality. I do try to be cold-hearted in analyzing facts; emotions never fixed anything [[although they have led to a lot of spending!). And I am judgmental, as everyone is. I just don't usually feel the need to pretend I'm not. As for condescending, well, you wouldn't understand...

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

But you just go right on believing in your libertarian fantasy land that all bad circumstances people find themselves in are a result of their bad decisions and lack of personal responsibility [[because, hey, otherwise they'd be well-off like me!). Since it seems somehow to allow you to feel perfectly comfortable with old people who've lived and worked in this city most of their lives being summarily thrown out to an uncertain future, so that they can be replaced with a "better mix" of more "active" younger and much more fashionable [[and rich) people.

The points I made in my initial post in this thread are valid, your perceiving them as mean notwithstanding. I made several points, among them: when people don't plan for and provide for their own future [[reasons are not relevant at that point), they leave their circumstances in old age to others. I don't think it ever made sense for seniors to be housed in and around downtown in general, Capitol Park in particular. When it was "affordable" it was entirely unsafe and lacking amenities; now that it safer and growing, it is too expensive to house them there. As I also said in my post, fortunately no one has been rendered homeless. They may not have wanted to move, but when others are making the arrangements, that wasn't their choice to make. Also, it is entirely appropriate when reviving an urban neighborhood to consider what kind of residents are likely to patronize the businesses that are trying to get underway. Detroit wants downtown residents and workers who shop and dine out. That isn't the limited-income senior crowd. There is no moralizing there, just acknowledging reality. Seniors are free to buy and rent downtown like anyone else. If they are footing the bill. If someone else is paying all or part of the bill, well, that someone else has a say in the matter. And for the record, I have a number of relatives in the 75+ bracket, 2 of whom live in Detroit, and I assist in their care. My mother, as well, although not quite there yet, is in active preparations for her later life financial, housing, and health needs. I am more than familiar with planning and caring for elderly people. Which is one reason why it is glaringly apparent that Capitol Park was never a good choice. It might have been a good choice for the buildings, so they never became vacant, but it wasn't good planning or care for the residents.