Warren Attempting to Create Walkable Downtown

[Lowell]

Warren is seeking developers for a 16 acre walkable downtown where none currently exists. The site would surround the Warren City Hall with a climate-controlled pedestrian connector bridge passing over Van Dyke to GM Tech Center.

From this rendering it appears to be going in the 'ye olde towne' direction ala Wixom or Novi's Main Street.



See Crains for full details.

So why would one live there? Warren is... well it does have that nickname of "Borin' Warren". I find intriguing such attempts to create centrality and community out of thin air.

I could see decent interest coming from the Tech Center employees who could walk to work and get their daily essentials on foot. I could see this one being a plus for Warren.

Thoughts?

[EGrant]

Is it a perfect example of mass transit-focused urban planning we demand on this forum? I don't think so.

Is it a vast improvement in a highly populated city, right across from a massive job center? Yep.

[Bham1982]

Good luck with that. Nothing says "city center" like acres of parking moats and isolated, low-slung sprawl structures.

Should be about as successful as the other fake downtowns in the Metro area. Put up some antique lamposts, a few cheap ye olde towne facades, and call the whole thing something cheesy like Uptown Warren or the Shoppes at Warren Centre.

[Shai_Hulud]

I don't get it.

A hotel, two huge parking lots, lots of apartments and one non-boulevard street wall. What is "downtown" about this? Or did they mean walkable for tech center employees who might choose to live there?

[Johnnny5]

The only way these faux "downtown" developments can work is if they are perfectly located. As Lowell mentioned Wixom and Novi. I think those are two perfect examples of the same concept with different results.

The development in Novi was placed a block or two off the main drag and has been a death sentence to just about every bar, restaurant and retailer that ever opened there. It's been well over a decade since that opened and it's still a half built ghost town. Wixom on the other hand seems to be doing fairly well. Those buildings were actually incorporated into the existing main street which had been there since the mid 1800's. Right next to their police station, library, Post Office and a handful of existing retailers. While I would not say it's been a raging success, it does see quite a bit of foot traffic and actually serves an essential purpose to those that live there.

I can't see the Crains article, but if Warren does something similar to Wixom it might just work. If they try a complete, stand alone, off the main drag development I think Bham is right. It's just another shopping mall.

[MicrosoftFan]

Where are the Wixom and Novi downtowns?

[Johnnny5]

Wixom's is at the intersection of Pontiac Trail and Wixom Rd [[The railroad track goes right through it). Novi's is just South East of the intersection of Novi Rd and Grand River.

[douglasm]

Good luck. This seems like a repeat of a school of urban design that's about 50 years old, an attempt to make a urban shopping center. If I remember correctly, Jackson tried something similar in the 60's that failed dramatically, and as the poster child for downtown failure, Tacoma WA did something similar in the early 70's that left a deserted, shopless down town in it's wake, that has only recovered over the past 5 years or so.

You don't design these things, they grow organically, usually around an existing retail base. Their best bet is to attract one or two quality merchants and let the area grow from there. It may take 10 years, but one needs a reason to live in an area. This is not a baseball diamond. People won't come just because it's there.

[313WX]

This was in the works since before the Auto Industry collapse. It's not a new plan.

That said, it has failed [[and will remain a failure) for obvious reasons.

[casscorridor]

Planned town centers and planned communities, in general, can and do work all over the world. The problem here is that this is a shrinking community, not growing. It might work if this was metropolitan Washington, which doubled in size since 1990, where metropolitan Detroit has stagnated.

[softailrider]

I was never able to understand the fervent dislike for Warren a lot of folks seem to have. While the city certainly isn’t very glamorous or charming, it does have some good things going for it, quite a bit of nice affordable housing, the schools are probably pretty good, city services have been noted to be very good. There seems to be places to shop and eat out. The mayor is a bit of a peculiar guy, but he makes the trains run on time and he keeps getting reelection. For a young couple who don’t want to rent, and are looking for a reasonably priced house in a fairly secure area [[or an older couple) I don’t see any problem living in that city. Not everyone can afford a condo up the street from the DIA.

[Honky Tonk]

Not everyone can afford a condo up the street from the DIA.

And not everyone wants one. Diversity and acceptance has always been a one way street.

[waz]

Meanwhile the original "downtown" of Warren languishes at Mound and Chicago roads. Its tiny, but could have been brought up to something charming with a little planning and investment. But someone thought the speed limit on Mound HAD to to be lifted to 50 and killed any ideas along those lines.

[313WX]

I was never able to understand the fervent dislike for Warren a lot of folks seem to have.

It's only fair given the fervent hatred [[not just dislike) the residents and leaders in Warren have had towards the city of Detroit throughout the years.

[ASilvaman]

The only way these faux "downtown" developments can work is if they are perfectly located. As Lowell mentioned Wixom and Novi. I think those are two perfect examples of the same concept with different results.

The development in Novi was placed a block or two off the main drag and has been a death sentence to just about every bar, restaurant and retailer that ever opened there. It's been well over a decade since that opened and it's still a half built ghost town. Wixom on the other hand seems to be doing fairly well. Those buildings were actually incorporated into the existing main street which had been there since the mid 1800's. Right next to their police station, library, Post Office and a handful of existing retailers. While I would not say it's been a raging success, it does see quite a bit of foot traffic and actually serves an essential purpose to those that live there.

I can't see the Crains article, but if Warren does something similar to Wixom it might just work. If they try a complete, stand alone, off the main drag development I think Bham is right. It's just another shopping mall.

Wanna get into Crains? Jist put article in reader mode in your mobile browser. Screw their paywall.

[ASilvaman]

It's only fair given the fervent hate [[not just dislike) the residents and leaders in Warren have had towards the city of Detroit throughout the years.

Amen, I've never understood the hate Detroit gets

[ASilvaman]

Here's my two cents, downtown's grow organically over time on their own. They are not planned in such a fake way such as this. This pathetic idea will not have the intended outcome.

[Bham1982]

I it does have some good things going for it, quite a bit of nice affordable housing, the schools are probably pretty good, city services have been noted to be very good. T

If the housing is affordable, that means it's less desirable. Schools aren't good unless you're comparing to DPS. I seriously doubt services are comparable to more desirable suburbs.

Warren isn't hated, but it doesn't really have obviously redeeming features. It has ugly, downscale, anonymous sprawl, no sense of place, and it's in decline. South Warren, in particular, is pretty rough at this point.

[1953]

Its too bad the leaders of Warren don't consult all of us -- we have near consensus that this won't really do anything for Warren.

[Lowell]

Its too bad the leaders of Warren don't consult all of us -- we have near consensus that this won't really do anything for Warren.

I think this has a decent chance and would be a plus for Warren, but for one reason only--the presence of GM Tech Center and its recent announcement of expanding the work force there by 2000. A walkable livable option next to work has be be very attractive. Certainly many workers would use the ease of a climate controlled bridge for lunch, after hours relaxation, grabbing groceries etc.

[MrMichigan]

Meanwhile the original "downtown" of Warren languishes at Mound and Chicago roads. Its tiny, but could have been brought up to something charming with a little planning and investment. But someone thought the speed limit on Mound HAD to to be lifted to 50 and killed any ideas along those lines.

Good point. You have a world class brewery, some cool housing in the area. I don't see why this has not been developed more.

[O3H]

It would be nice to see Warren move past the "old" ideas
of being the Arsenal of Democracy, The Car City, etc., etc.

How far are those GM workers going to walk on a daily basis.... ?
Once the newness wears off, what happens then to the area ?
Kowtowing to GM isn't all its cracked up to be.
- Don't forget that anyone else - has to walk around that square mile -
to get to the downtown, since GM is a mile wide, by a mile long
- i.e people have to drive to that "walkable " area.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/g...83.0292775,17z

It sounds nice, but I think they need to actually POLL the residents who live here, and truly listen to what they might want in a downtown.

Wonder if they'll "daylight" Bear Creek ???
Will the area be Flood Proofed ??
https://redrundrain.files.wordpress....ystems-map.jpg
Ohhhh yeah it was only $ 1.2 BILLION dollars of flood damage in 2014

[hybridy]

It would be nice to see Warren move past the "old" ideas
of being the Arsenal of Democracy, The Car City, etc., etc.

How far are those GM workers going to walk on a daily basis.... ?
Once the newness wears off, what happens then to the area ?
Kowtowing to GM isn't all its cracked up to be.
- Don't forget that anyone else - has to walk around that square mile -
to get to the downtown, since GM is a mile wide, by a mile long
- i.e people have to drive to that "walkable " area.
https://www.google.com/maps/search/g...83.0292775,17z

It sounds nice, but I think they need to actually POLL the residents who live here, and truly listen to what they might want in a downtown.

Wonder if they'll "daylight" Bear Creek ???
Will the area be Flood Proofed ??
https://redrundrain.files.wordpress....ystems-map.jpg
Ohhhh yeah it was only $ 1.2 BILLION dollars of flood damage in 2014

an enclosed pedestrian skywalk connection from the VEC Tower to a new hotel across van dyke will be on par/longer than the somerset skywalk...I doubt the tax payers of warren have an appetite to fund that boondoggle

The completed Somerset Skywalk is 700 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 17 feet above street level. The exterior was constructed with steel, Cranbrook brick, Mankato stone and more than 14,000 square feet of glass. The skywalk’s interior includes two moving walkways and a marble-covered aisle.

[Scottathew]

I doubt the tax payers of warren have an appetite to fund that boondoggle

The taxpayers of Warren will do whatever Jim Fouts tells them while he's shagging his secretary and the taxpayers foot the bill for this quasi-prostitution arrangement.

On the topic of the development, it's a good thing for Warren, but I wouldn't call it a "walkable downtown". It's right across from GM and right on a major SMART route that goes to Downtown Detroit.

I do agree that the skywalk is a joke. The GM property is sprawling. Even if you lived at this new "downtown" you would still need to drive to whichever building you work in if you wanted to walk less than a half mile.

[EGrant]

So then maybe the parking lots and decks around the new development aren't such a horrible idea, so GM workers can drive to grab a quick lunch or dinner there?

If a development doesn't have a walkability score of 100 and replicate the city center of Paris, France, this forum gets triggered into oblivion.