The Tiger Ball Park Beginner's Guide to Downtown Detroit Revival

[Lowell]

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At the Tiger’s game yesterday, I found it uplifting counting the revival of downtown Detroit in the skyline that spread before me. The Tigers lost the game, but Detroit is winning.

1. Renaissance Center, once decaying and on the verge falling into vacancy, bought by GM, made its world HQ, had over $1 billion dollars in improvements invested, and now thriving and fully occupied.

2. The Detroit Athletic Club, once in crisis and reduced to offering no initiation fee memberships, now booming with recently added rooftop restaurant.

3. The Milner Hotel, once a declining budget hotel, now the renovated as the desirable Ashley Apartments,

4. The Barden Building, originally the Home Telephone Company of Detroit and once the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit, most recently the HQ of Donald Barden, and now the downtown presence of Central Michigan University.

5. The 1st Federal Savings and Loan building, long abandoned, now refurbished and occupied.

6. The Detroit Opera House, magnificently restored and repurposed from the dying and decaying Capitol Theater.

7. The Stott Building, abandoned and heavily damaged by flooding, currently undergoing exterior cleaning and complete interior renovation to residential.

8. The Wurlitzer Building, abandoned for decades and decaying with pieces falling off, currently undergoing exterior cleaning and complete renovation into the boutique Ash Hotel.

9. The Metropolitan Building, long abandoned and decaying with trees growing on it roof, currently undergoing exterior cleaning and complete renovation into the boutique Element Hotel.

10. The Cadillac Hotel restored from total interior ruination and exterior decay to again being Detroit’s premier hotel topped with luxury condominiums, one recently flipping for $1.8 million.

11. The Broderick Tower, restored from ruin to an elegant fully occupied apartment building.

12. The Whitney Building, restored from ruin to the boutique Aloft Hotel topped with 130 fully occupied condominiums.

13. Book Tower and Building, currently undergoing exterior cleaning and complete interior renovation to residential.

14. Detroit City Apartments, formerly the declining Trolley Plaza, upgraded to 1st class apartments.

15. And, less we forget a new Detroit Tiger ball park from where this picture, is taken.