Detroit - Going Off Trail

[O3H]

Detroit wants business - than be REAL about it

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/17/t...t-off-the-bus/

""We recently hosted a group of MBAs from Stanford on a tour.
The pet store nature of some of the stops was not lost on the group.
One student remarked that a tour of Detroit,
led by a local economic development group,
reminded her of the staged tours of Pyongyang,
where guides strictly curate what guests see and don’t see.
This inspired a small group to go rogue, rent a van,
and embark on a self-guided tour.""

[Colombian Dan]

Detroit wants business - than be REAL about it

https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/17/t...t-off-the-bus/

""We recently hosted a group of MBAs from Stanford on a tour.
The pet store nature of some of the stops was not lost on the group.
One student remarked that a tour of Detroit,
led by a local economic development group,
reminded her of the staged tours of Pyongyang,
where guides strictly curate what guests see and don’t see.
This inspired a small group to go rogue, rent a van,
and embark on a self-guided tour.""

I saw this first hand in 2013 while working at 1528 Woodward Ave.. Bedrock brought in a bunch of Chinese investors..this group was tightly controlled.. no stragglers allowed. no going off the track.. Some of these Chinese asked me in broken English they wanted to see more of Detroit but weren't allowed to deviate from the tour..... also asked where were all the people in this city.. very low density in downtown Detroit..

[O3H]

WHY NOT show those massive open lots open to development
in some "rough" neighborhoods which are probably cheap as hell ?

[Colombian Dan]

WHY NOT show those massive open lots open to development
in some "rough" neighborhoods which are probably cheap as hell ?

I think we all know that answer..... Plenty of lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxic stuff in Detroit's vacant wastelands.. but no gold, diamonds, gemstones as you would find elsewhere in a third world..... Detroit simply doesn't have enough of a ROI to make it worthwhile for most investors of the world....

[O3H]

Should there be a trail - a tourist trap route - for the out-of-towners ??

[masterblaster]

I think we all know that answer..... Plenty of lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxic stuff in Detroit's vacant wastelands.. but no gold, diamonds, gemstones as you would find elsewhere in a third world..... Detroit simply doesn't have enough of a ROI to make it worthwhile for most investors of the world....

Developers can get significant brownfield tax credits and other tax benefits for re-development on polluted land. IMO It is just that all of this vacant land is not contiguous plot of land. The vacant land is owned by many different entities. Also what makes Detroit city unattractive is the city income tax.

[bust]

Limiting visitors' interaction with the city isn't honest, whether or not it's counterproductive. But with regard to the anecdote about Chinese visitors, it's ironic. Are you aware what happens when whether or not an American goes off track in China?

[O3H]

Foreign countries have their own laws/rules/enforcement
which need to be respected and observed by travelers.

I find it odd that visitors were tightly controlled in Detroit.

[Meddle]

WHY NOT show those massive open lots open to development
in some "rough" neighborhoods which are probably cheap as hell ?

The people guiding the tours don't own that land to sell for profit to the tourists.

[O3H]

Maybe there needs to be a different kind of tour business in the D.
A few more based on reality, facts and the opportunities that exist.

[Meddle]

Odd thing noted.

Controlled guided tours of 'good stuff' [[as perceived by the guides) are railed against.

'Ruin Porn' tours of not so good stuff are railed against.

Real neighborhood tours would probably be railed against due to the risk of the guides and guidees getting robbed.

Maybe ban all tours?

[O3H]

Of course - because BUS jackings - at gunpoint - are on the rise :-)

I think Detroit actually has some great opportunities for investors to kick off some new businesses. Detroit needs to diversify, attract , and capture some new markets.