Olympia Clueless About What to Do With Fine Arts Facade?

[reddog289]

Other than being a facade, But not in Detroit what is the deal with the one out in Plymouth? The former Daisey Air Rifle factory?. Have not paid alot of notice in awhile since I don't go there that often.

[crawford]

Give it up, DC. Did it take you all day to think of that list?

Wayne State is now downtown?
A bus stop is a development project?
A rails-to-trails path is considered new construction?
Wetlands are signs of economic viability?
A bankrupt casino up for auction is indicative of a dynamic market?

Show me something newly built or even renovated that isn't either a government project or some giant subsidy-laden initiative. It doesn't exist.

If there were a market, there would be [[duh) market-rate activity. There is no market, and thus, no activity.

The biggest development news in downtown during the last 12 months was the final abandonment of the Book Tower.

And don't give me "it's the economy" excuses. I can rattle off 100% market-rate projects going on right now in Birmingham, Royal Oak and other places in the metro.

[kraig]

Any ideas on what Olympia should do with the building? What is the seating capacity? What was the last show/concert that anyone attended there?

[detmich]

Crawford, why do you hate Detroit?

[dcmorrison12]

It's funny crawford, because you refuse to see how wrong you are.

The second I call you out on how there isn't any new development in Downtown Detroit, you quickly change your argument to JUST Grand Circus.

Then, I go on to list all of the projects which I thought off in 5 minutes off the top of my head at 1 in the morning - and yet again you start to argue a COMPLETELY different point which wasn't even part of the argument.


"Wetlands are signs of economic viability"
- Who said that was my argument? Again, proving to you there's new construction

"A bankrupt casino up for auction is indicative of a dynamic market?" - AGAIN, who said that was my argument. I'm proving to you there's new development

"A bus stop is a development project?"
-YES, a multimodal, state of the art transit facility is DEFINITELY a development project. It's essential for a thriving Downtown and will spur only possitve effects

"A rails-to-trails path is considered new construction?"
-Um... crains, tractors, back-hoes, new pavement... YEA, NEW CONSTRUCTION. It's a sign that Detroit is being reborn - into a new, viable, healthier, more fun and attractive place to live in the Greater downtown area. I'd say YES, a sign of market vitality - why go through to effort to build miles and miles of greenways in a desolate, god forsaken crap hole which you think all of Detroit is.


"Wayne State is now downtown?"

-YES, it IS downtowm, my god have you EVER been to Detroit? You literally know NOTHING about it and yet you hate it with a passion.

Look Crawford, you never have a nice to thing to say about Detroit, EVER. Detroit is my city, my neighborhood - I know more about it than you do. I don't know what suburb you live in, but I don't go around posting about how shitty it is and how wrong you are to like it.

Please, for the sake of us ALL, GOOOOO AWAAAAAYYYY

[Gistok]

Any ideas on what Olympia should do with the building? What is the seating capacity? What was the last show/concert that anyone attended there?

Kraig, are you confusing the Fine Arts Building with the Adams Auditorium? The Fine Arts Building was the entrance way to the Adams Theatre. That 1,700 seat venue is now gone [[taken down at the same time as the Fine Arts Building structure)... only the facade of the office block still exists.

The Adams was closed in the late 1980s after a shooting there. It was not a concert venue, but showed movies, and IIRC, it was "twinned" [[parts walled off to make 2 theatres).

[EastSider]

"Wayne State is now downtown?"

-YES, it IS downtowm, my god have you EVER been to Detroit? You literally know NOTHING about it and yet you hate it with a passion.

Wayne State isn't 'downtown' and has never been considered 'downtown' except for people in the suburbs who think anything south of 8 Mile is 'downtown.' Wayne wasn't really ever considered a part of a 'district' until the recent rebranding of the Cass Corridor as "Midtown."

'Downtown' for Detroit has always been limited to the Central Business District.

Back to the development, the scorecard is a swamp, a sidewalk and a bus station. Yay, Detroit!

[detmich]

"A rails-to-trails path is considered new construction?"
-Um... crains, tractors, back-hoes, new pavement... YEA, NEW CONSTRUCTION. It's a sign that Detroit is being reborn - into a new, viable, healthier, more fun and attractive place to live in the Greater downtown area. I'd say YES, a sign of market vitality - why go through to effort to build miles and miles of greenways in a desolate, god forsaken crap hole which you think all of Detroit is.

Yes, that's all well and good, but is it sustainable?

[downtownguy]

dcmorrison wrote:
As for construction in Downtown Detroit - which most people generalize as riverfront to new center...

and

EastSider wrote:
Wayne State isn't 'downtown' and has never been considered 'downtown' except for people in the suburbs who think anything south of 8 Mile is 'downtown.' Wayne wasn't really ever considered a part of a 'district' until the recent rebranding of the Cass Corridor as "Midtown."

'Downtown' for Detroit has always been limited to the Central Business District.


EastSider, who made you the authority on what constitutes downtown? I have lived downtown since 1981 and have always considered the CBD -- or the area between the freeways -- the technical definition of downtown. But I have accepted that a much broader usage for downtown exists, many times encompassing the areas up to the New Center and futher up and down the riverfront. Note that dcmorrison didn't define downtown, he just referred to what many people generalize as downtown.

For the record, I now live in Lafayette Park, technically not downtown either. But the fact is more people relate to where I live when I say "downtown."

And as for Midtown, the "recent rebranding" you write about took place in the 90s. I always considered the Cass Corridor to be one or two streets either side of Cass roughly from south of Warren to the Fisher Fwy. Brush Park, Wayne State, the DMC, the Cultural Center and other areas of Midtown certainly weren't considered the Cass Corridor before that designation was coined.

But I admit, I'm no authority either.

[Jason]

If Olympia has intentions of doing a building back there, they should do it now while they can get it for cheaper. As far as I know, a project like this isn't going to break the bank for them, so I think they could build it now and wait until a little later to build out the interior.

I think the idea that this is just an advanced form of demolition by neglect makes sense.

[leland_palmer]

If Olympia has intentions of doing a building back there, they should do it now while they can get it for cheaper. As far as I know, a project like this isn't going to break the bank for them, so I think they could build it now and wait until a little later to build out the interior.
.

That's been my opinion at least build the box now, then when you have a plan finish the interior. Why risk it?

Ilitch didn't have to pay for the demolition so he was all for it. Was there a requirement that the facade be saved in order to get the cash? It doesn't sound like he wants to put any of his money into a new building.

BTW, how's the work going on the Detroit Life Building Mr. I? I haven't noticed a thing being done there since the Super Bowl. They moved the sign from the Elizabeth Street Garage next door, but that's been it. I thought Olympia Development was going to move in?

[wolverine]

Crawford says

There is NO market for any new construction right now in downtown Detroit

dcmorrison responds:

Hm.. that's funny, then how come there's multiple construction sites throughout the area?

But then presents a list of heavily subsidized projects. Notice the word I put in bold above. No doubt, they are excellent projects but did you really answer/respond to that post appropriately?

I'm hoping there will soon be a stronger market eventually for more lofts, condos, and apartments downtown. But there has been very little of that lately. I'd like to see a list of the number of new or renovated units added per year in the last 5 years in the downtown vicinity for what we will call "recent." Maybe crawford is wrong by saying there is NO market, because the real answer is there is a very weak market for additional residential downtown, otherwise all these vacant highrises with their spectacular views and affordable unit prices would have been renovated now.