Woodbridge CDC Opposes New Veteran's Center

**royce** · November-27-15, 06:03 AM

This topic was discussed in Curbed Detroit on the eighteenth of this month. I agree with most of the comments made that the design of the building is inappropriate for a major arterial street like Grand River. There should be no set back and the building should be two stories tall at a minimal.

Detroit is unique in that it has a number of streets that take you directly into downtown, not just Woodward. Urban planners and developers should take advantage of this fact by building up these streets as much as possible with buildings that come right up to the sidewalk. Isn't this a part of the "complete streets" movement? When considering residential and commercial development, I would love to see a series of mixed-use developments line these streets such as the Ellington or Studio One developments. Parking is placed in the back. Regarding this veteran's center, if reconfigured, the use of Rosa Parks Boulevard would be more appropriate for drop-offs and parking. Well, that's my two cents. What do you think?

**Honky Tonk** · November-27-15, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by royce

This topic was discussed in Curbed Detroit on the eighteenth of this month. I agree with most of the comments made that the design of the building is inappropriate for a major arterial street like Grand River. There should be no set back and the building should be two stories tall at a minimal.

Detroit is unique in that it has a number of streets that take you directly into downtown, not just Woodward. Urban planners and developers should take advantage of this fact by building up these streets as much as possible with buildings that come right up to the sidewalk. Isn't this a part of the "complete streets" movement? When considering residential and commercial development, I would love to see a series of mixed-use developments line these streets such as the Ellington or Studio One developments. Parking is placed in the back. Regarding this veteran's center, if reconfigured, the use of Rosa Parks Boulevard would be more appropriate for drop-offs and parking. Well, that's my two cents. What do you think?

I think you should post a link to the original article.

**Pam** · November-27-15, 07:29 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

I think you should post a link to the original article.

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...kiing.php#more

**Zacha341** · November-27-15, 08:26 AM

Grand River is has had little if any development from the casino [[Motorcity) to Joy Rd. for years. I say YES to the vet center. There aren't even many weed dispensaries on Grand River -- it has been so undesirable for development! But why on that corner?

There are other areas along Grand River more suitable. Or as one of the commenters stated why not use some of the sprawling and abandoned DPS properties that need to be torn down and rebuilt over. Or Grand River beyond Joy Rd. where more flat lands abound. The shaping of this proposed building seems a bit odd for the space to me.

**downtownguy** · November-27-15, 01:43 PM

The architects behind the plans, Ann Arbor's Hobbs + Black, also designed Detroit's newly-opened Outdoor Adventure Center.

That's says enough for me. The rehab of the historic former Globe Trading Company building is awful, IMHO.

The Woodbridge parcel is pretty big, and that area doesn't have the density of downtown, so I'm ambivalent about how many stories tall it should be. No doubt, some of the criticism of the design is veiled NIMBY concerns. While the neighborhood is pretty stable, and they have every right to keep it that way, I don't see a Veterans Center as being particularly troublesome.

Go back to the drawing board, I say. And consider an architect with a better track record of working on and around historic structures.