Time Out Magazine names Corktown one of the 50 coolest neighborhoods in the world

[iheartthed]

Detroit's Corktown has made the list of coolest neighborhoods just released by Time Out, the famous urban culture and entertainment guide:

Corktown, Detroit

The energy in Detroit has been building over the past few years, and the best place to experience that buzz right now is Corktown. With its strong Irish heritage, Detroit’s oldest neighbourhood is now the place to be for craft cocktailing, vintage shopping and checking out some of the city’s most up-and-coming chefs. Packed full of everything from freshly baked bagels to craft coffee and Thai-inspired cuisine to slow-roasted BBQ, Michigan Avenue is a great place to start your adventures. But make sure to veer off the main strip to discover rainbow-coloured Victorian homes, quirky little shops and historic pubs.


EAT Hometown hero Kate Williams still holds court at Lady of the House. Brunch is a highlight here: get a massive stack of pancakes for the table with smoked maple syrup.


DRINK Sip handcrafted cocktails at Two James Spirits, Detroit’s first distillery since Prohibition. Order a sweet and spicy Dr Strangelove made with the house spirits: Doctor Bird rum and Dos Jaimes Joven mezcal.


DO Corktown’s shops are stuffed with unique goods. Score vintage finds at the Eldorado General Store and Mama Coo's boutique, flip through vinyl records at Hello Records and Underground Vinyl and sort through four storeys of secondhand reads at John K. King Used & Rare Books.


STAY Boutique hotel Trumbull and Porter is full of local art, including Michigan-made furniture in all the rooms. Party [[or sleep) like a rock star in the Rolling Stones Suite: a refurbished version of room 132, where the band stayed way back in 1964. —Samantha Lande

https://www.timeout.com/coolest-neig...s-in-the-world

[One Shot]

Everybody’s got their opinion right?

[iheartthed]

Everybody’s got their opinion right?

If this had been about the 50 worst neighborhoods, this thread would be about 5 pages by now.

[401don]

Twenty years after Tiger Stadium closed I'm surprised there hasn't been more housing built on all the parking lots. There always seems to be demand in the area and prices have risen. Lofts and condos are being built but not detached housing. Is that due to lack of demand for detached or difficulty financing?

[K-slice]

Twenty years after Tiger Stadium closed I'm surprised there hasn't been more housing built on all the parking lots. There always seems to be demand in the area and prices have risen. Lofts and condos are being built but not detached housing. Is that due to lack of demand for detached or difficulty financing?

More money to be made building 150 apartments with parking on a vacant lot over 5-10 single family homes. Due to South Corktown's proximity to downtown and other commercial properties make it prime for mid-rise buildings. North Corktown will certainly see a lot of singe family detached building in the next 10 years.

You know what would REALLY make Corktown cool though? REAL transit running down Michigan and Grand River!

[ParisianLesion]

Twenty years after Tiger Stadium closed I'm surprised there hasn't been more housing built on all the parking lots. There always seems to be demand in the area and prices have risen. Lofts and condos are being built but not detached housing. Is that due to lack of demand for detached or difficulty financing?

It has more to do with rising construction costs resulting in lower margins for detached housing. Hence the trend for townhouses because you can bring more units to market at lower cost per unit. This is a national trend.

For Detroit specifically, no one is going to build speculative single family detached anywhere near downtown, the land is too expensive now. Developers need to make a profit and the risk is much lower to build townhouses, apartments, and condos so that you get more units on one parcel to recoup your costs and make a profit. Of course banks know this as well and you wouldn't get financing for single family even if you wanted to.

Outside of downtown you see some new detached homes but note that these are being built on either a) as infill on empty parcels in existing nabes, or b) less than desirable areas pushing out the boundaries of other healthy areas. In other words, the land was acquired cheap enough to warrant detached.

This is also of course why you see some creative methods for building detached housing when closer to downtown: think Quonset Huts, "Eco Homes," and recycled container housing. It's all about bringing those construction costs down to cover the costs of the land and taxes, while being in a "cool" enough location to charge enough and ultimately make a profit.

[masterblaster]

If this had been about the 50 worst neighborhoods, this thread would be about 5 pages by now.

Here's some positivity, I counted over 30 different food/drink establishments in Corktown:

1. Slows BBQ
2. Mercury Burger Bar
3. Two James - distillery
4. LJ's - dive bar
5. Astro Coffee
6. Ima - udon noodles
7. UFO Factory/Laika Dog - bar,live music/hot dogs
8. Folk - breakfast/brunch
9. Sugar House - cocktail bar
10. Motor City Wine - wine bar
11. Bobcat Bonnie's - gastropub
12. Red Dunn Kitchen [[inside Trumbull & Porter Hotel)
13. Lady of the House - new American
14. Mudgie's - Deli
15. Grandma Bob's - pizza
16. McShane's - dive bar
17. Ottava Via - pizza, Italian
18. Cash Gold Cash - new American
19. Bucharest Grill - chicken shawarma
20. Takoi - Thai
21. Nemo's - Sport's Bar
22. Brooklyn Street Local - breakfast/lunch
23. Detroit Institute of Bagels
24. PJ's Lager House
25. Corktown Tavern
26. Batch Brewery
27. Brew Detroit - brewery
28. Onassis Coney Island
29. Cork & Gable - Italian, German, Irish fusion
30. Good Stuff - NYC-style bodega
31. Lucky Detroit - coffee

3 establishments announced & opening soon
32. Michigan & Trumbull - a pizzeria serving upscale "Detroit-style Pizza
33. Mink - new American/small plates, opening in the former Farmer's Hand space
34. Toma Detroit - tequila bar

[Wheels]

Have they tested the water for lead yet?

[ABetterDetroit]

Have they tested the water for lead yet?

Why? Did the Republicans from Lansing take over the water department?

Because if they did history has proven that they better test that water damn quick! Those idiots will defund a million dollar problem causing a Billion dollar problem in a heartbeat.

[Metro25]

This is nice and all but I put zero credence in any of these media lists good or bad. They only serve one purpose and that's to generate revenue for their companies.

[DetroitSoldier]

This is nice and all but I put zero credence in any of these media lists good or bad. They only serve one purpose and that's to generate revenue for their companies.

Isn't that the point of owning a business? I don't know anyone who has started a business saying "hey lets go out there and not generate revenue!"

[Hamtragedy]

This is nice and all but I put zero credence in any of these media lists good or bad. They only serve one purpose and that's to generate revenue for their companies.

Remember how about twenty years ago the same thing happened to Hamtramck? One of the ten coolest places in North America.

Hamtramck, perpetually next......

[Danny]

Remember how about twenty years ago the same thing happened to Hamtramck? One of the ten coolest places in North America.

Hamtramck, perpetually next......

Hamtramck is now called 'Hamtramckstan'. With Muslim owned shop and hoods all round and a first ever Muslim City Council.

[Hypestyles]

hipster media.... somebody come to Pestoskey-Otsego, and "discover" us, too...

[Honky Tonk]

Hamtramck is now called 'Hamtramckstan'. With Muslim owned shop and hoods all round and a first ever Muslim City Council.

Big deal. Hamtramck Polish women have had their heads covered with babushkas for years.

[Zacha341]

True! Good to see Corktown received a positive spotlight!!

If this had been about the 50 worst neighborhoods, this thread would be about 5 pages by now.

[bartocktoo]

Here's some positivity, I counted over 30 different food/drink establishments in Corktown:

1. Slows BBQ
2. Mercury Burger Bar
3. Two James - distillery
4. LJ's - dive bar
5. Astro Coffee
6. Ima - udon noodles
7. UFO Factory/Laika Dog - bar,live music/hot dogs
8. Folk - breakfast/brunch
9. Sugar House - cocktail bar
10. Motor City Wine - wine bar
11. Bobcat Bonnie's - gastropub
12. Red Dunn Kitchen [[inside Trumbull & Porter Hotel)
13. Lady of the House - new American
14. Mudgie's - Deli
15. Grandma Bob's - pizza
16. McShane's - dive bar
17. Ottava Via - pizza, Italian
18. Cash Gold Cash - new American
19. Bucharest Grill - chicken shawarma
20. Takoi - Thai
21. Nemo's - Sport's Bar
22. Brooklyn Street Local - breakfast/lunch
23. Detroit Institute of Bagels
24. PJ's Lager House
25. Corktown Tavern
26. Batch Brewery
27. Brew Detroit - brewery
28. Onassis Coney Island
29. Cork & Gable - Italian, German, Irish fusion
30. Good Stuff - NYC-style bodega
31. Lucky Detroit - coffee

3 establishments announced & opening soon
32. Michigan & Trumbull - a pizzeria serving upscale "Detroit-style Pizza
33. Mink - new American/small plates, opening in the former Farmer's Hand space
34. Toma Detroit - tequila bar

It'll be nicer when a Meijer or Target or something similar gets announced. Hope it happens.

[night-timer]

It's nice to see Corktown get noticed and praised, but I think most Detroiters and the people on this forum already know about that area's comeback and its many food and booze establishments.

Then again, doesn't Greektown have just as many similar establishments, if not more? And Greektown is pumping on weekends and holidays, whereas Michigan Avenue can still get pretty sparse and empty most nights of the week. Albeit with less potholes along the road than there was a few years back.

Next time tell the people from Time Out to check out Midtown and the refurbished Cass Corridor if they like hipster coffee shops, micro breweries and Slows BBQ type places.

I like Corktown, but is it really any better [[or 'cooler') than Midtown/Cass or Greektown? They're all good now.

[ParisianLesion]

It's nice to see Corktown get noticed and praised, but I think most Detroiters and the people on this forum already know about that area's comeback and its many food and booze establishments.

Then again, doesn't Greektown have just as many similar establishments, if not more? And Greektown is pumping on weekends and holidays, whereas Michigan Avenue can still get pretty sparse and empty most nights of the week. Albeit with less potholes along the road than there was a few years back.

Next time tell the people from Time Out to check out Midtown and the refurbished Cass Corridor if they like hipster coffee shops, micro breweries and Slows BBQ type places.

I like Corktown, but is it really any better [[or 'cooler') than Midtown/Cass or Greektown? They're all good now.

Depends on one's definition of "cool" I suppose. It's hard to quantify or put your finger on but there is a certain demographic that tends to define cool as, generally, a liveable area with a blend of walkable services and an unfiltered grit and authenticity. Brooklyn has [[had?) this in spades and is why it is always held up as the shining star when talking about "cool" neighborhoods. I wouldn't call Midtown particularly authentic, perhaps if it retained more of its Cass Corridor roots but that ship has long since sailed. Greek Town is the farthest thing from authentic and only has that gritty sexiness if you consider the pervasive threat of being punched by some chochi. It also lacks any residential so really can't even be considered a neighborhood. Milwaukee Junction has all the makings to be called the "coolest" and is laid out much better than Corktown, it just doesn't have the saturation of services quite yet....