Midtown Dump?

**casscorridor65** · April-01-20, 01:31 PM

Talking with some friends, we were wondering what the early closure of Wayne State, the impending recession and associated job losses will do to the EXTRAORDINARILY high rents in Midtown? Will people start bailing as their paychecks tighten up and realize this isn't as primo living as once imagined?

How about the restaurants? What about the $75 dishes at the local restaurants like Smith & Co. or She Wolf? Do you think they are goners too? I'm thinking the novelty of living here is going to die pretty fast at least for the near future.

**Honky Tonk** · April-01-20, 01:58 PM

I think you're going to see the biggest cluster of low income housing on the planet.

**Richard** · April-01-20, 02:21 PM

There was a thread awhile back where somebody posted everybody was pissing in the doorways in midtown,it did not seem to be a very nice place then.

What is going on with all of these the end is here scenarios?

**401don** · April-01-20, 03:39 PM

A lot of restaurants will close. I don't think anyone can dispute that. After social distancing ends people will be reluctant to be in crowds and will have less money to spend. Eventually that will change. It's not only surviving the next 3 months that will be difficult for restaurants it's surviving the slower than normal period after social distancing ends. Being a cheapskate myself, I have no idea how so many high end restaurants operate in a city like Detroit in the best of times. As much as Detroit has had a turnaround, it still has a small downtown/midtown population and a small corporate presence.

**Wheels** · April-01-20, 04:31 PM

Social distancing will change restaurants across the board. Capacity will be a third of what they were. In that scenario more restaurants will be needed to fill the need. People will go back to dining out but you won’t see elbow to elbow eating in the near future.

**Meddle** · April-01-20, 04:48 PM

OK, can we like totally ban that stupid 'S D' phrase? That'd be really gnarly and bitchin'.

**Gistok** · April-01-20, 04:50 PM

It's way more than just restaurants... what about theatres... wedding venues, sporting arenas... etc...

**Zacha341** · April-01-20, 05:08 PM

Hah. It's just getting started. Will be around a long time!

Originally Posted by Meddle

OK, can we like totally ban that stupid 'S D' phrase? That'd be really gnarly and bitchin'.

**Ray1936** · April-01-20, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

Hah. It's just getting started. Will be around a long time!

Zacha341 speaks wisely. The economic impact of this virus matter will far, far outweigh the health impact. Except for those who die, of course. But 99.999 percent of us will survive and be scraping pennies for years to come.

**Gistok** · April-01-20, 06:00 PM

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

**Meddle** · April-01-20, 06:35 PM

^^^ Order clippers. Do your own.

**401don** · April-01-20, 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

There are 3 options to weigh and none of them are good - attempt to cut it yourself, let someone else cut it or let it grow crazy. - Come to think of it, is Harry the Hatter still in business?

**Honky Tonk** · April-01-20, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

"Remember what the door mouse said, shave your head..."

**softailrider** · April-01-20, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

Already do, was needing a haircut before the shit really hit the fan. My barber is a weird old Italian guy, didn’t want him breathing on me.

**Jimaz** · April-01-20, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

I don't see any problem with that.

**DeLemur** · April-01-20, 09:13 PM

It's interesting, because there was already a glut of restaurants in Detroit. Articles were already running about an impending string of closures. I do think the foodie, always going out to eat Generation Z mentality was overblown in downtown Detroit before coronavirus. So yeah, there will be a lot less restaurants and probably some cheaper rent.
Midtown Dump? Hardly.

**JonWylie** · April-01-20, 09:22 PM

I get that you guys are all bored sitting at home, but there is literally no way that this virus will destroy the economy for years to come. People with high paying jobs will still be working, those people will want to go out to eat once they can. If places close, new ones will open. Unless we here about Fortune 500 companies collapsing, which the government won't let happen, service jobs will come and go like the always do. It's not like resturants are just money trees even in a good economy.

**DeLemur** · April-01-20, 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by JonWylie

I get that you guys are all bored sitting at home, but there is literally no way that this virus will destroy the economy for years to come. People with high paying jobs will still be working, those people will want to go out to eat once they can. If places close, new ones will open. Unless we here about Fortune 500 companies collapsing, which the government won't let happen, service jobs will come and go like the always do. It's not like resturants are just money trees even in a good economy.

Not sure if you noticed but the largest bailout package in the history of the country was just passed and they're looking at another one. The Prez just greatly increased death toll numbers to 200K and the stock market dropped 900 points today. So I would take it seriously. I'd also take seriously that Auto is in a terrible position. It has Tesla ripping it apart, it has people not buying new anymore, it has SUVs/trucks finally getting penetrated by Asian companies, it has driverless vehicles threatening to decrease the quantities of cars needed.

This is serious, remember 2001? 2008? There were some bad years afterwards. Where are you getting this idea that stopping half of the entire economy for months isn't going to screw it up for a while?

Yeah some restaurants are going to close and yes Detroit is one of the worst cities to handle a downturn.

**wazootyman** · April-02-20, 06:16 AM

I worry about the mental health of some when I see posts like this. I mean no offense, what I mean is that we're all suffering with the headlines, being off-work, and the fear of the unknown.

Yeah, there's going to be some fallout. But the fundamental desire to live in urban areas and the neighborhood improvements don't just suddenly go away.

Originally Posted by DeLemur

Not sure if you noticed but the largest bailout package in the history of the country was just passed and they're looking at another one. The Prez just greatly increased death toll numbers to 200K and the stock market dropped 900 points today.

This is necessary to provide a bridge to the mass number of people that have been laid off [[most temporarily, we hope). The 200k estimate is just that - an estimate. These estimates have been all over the map since this started. Don't focus too closely on any one number.

Oh, and "the stock market is not the economy".

Originally Posted by DeLemur

So I would take it seriously. I'd also take seriously that Auto is in a terrible position. It has Tesla ripping it apart, it has people not buying new anymore, it has SUVs/trucks finally getting penetrated by Asian companies, it has driverless vehicles threatening to decrease the quantities of cars needed.

The automotive companies have been anticipating and preparing for a downturn for some time now. This obviously accelerates that greatly, but it's also possible that many purchases are deferred until this crisis ends. Tesla is not ripping anyone apart, and they're going to suffer from the same downturn. There were still 17 million new cars sold in 2019 [[a target that's been hit for 5 years in a row), though the trend was mostly flat [[and down in the non-SUV market). We won't see driverless cars for a long time, based on my understanding. What some manufacturers have now is impressive for what it is, but it's far from being truly driverless. It's that whole 10 % of the [[remaining) work requiring 90 % of the effort problem.

Originally Posted by DeLemur

Yeah some restaurants are going to close and yes Detroit is one of the worst cities to handle a downturn.

Some restaurants will close. Some restaurants will open in their place. This will be a dip, but in the end, we'll recover just fine I predict. Maybe not the boom times we've seen over the past 10 years, but I really don't think we're headed for another 2008. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but there's no sense getting buried in the doom & gloom.

**Gistok** · April-02-20, 06:36 AM

Agree with you Wazootyman... I totally stopped watching the constant barrage from the news media 10 days ago... I was getting an ulcer from this, and decided to do things to occupy my time, many constructive. That lady that bought paint at Home Depot but got a fine... she was well intended [[for a home project)... and besides Home Depot has instituted a 6 ft. distancing policy, and only allows so many into their store at once.

Many open stores have restricted entrancing, with a 6 ft. distance line-up outside... although I prefer going at 15 minutes to closing for going to any store... last night at 8:45PM I was the only one at my Dollar General store 2 blocks from home.

If anyone feels that the Midtown residential prices are going to tank... they better be prepared for the other shoe to fall... the devaluation of home values throughout the city and suburbs.

**Hermod** · April-02-20, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

... and with barber shops and beauty salons closed... it's just a matter of time before we all start looking like hippies on a bad hair day!

Yeah, I am going to be looking like Bernie Sanders in a week and 88% of the blondes are going to disappear in a month.

**wazootyman** · April-02-20, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

That lady that bought paint at Home Depot but got a fine... she was well intended [[for a home project)... and besides Home Depot has instituted a 6 ft. distancing policy, and only allows so many into their store at once.

Honestly the longer this goes on, the more Home Depot becomes "essential". One can only sit at home watching Netflix for so long before they start to lose their mind. Working on a home project [[in isolation) is kind of the perfect escape...

**Zacha341** · April-02-20, 07:25 AM

^^^ Or what if you have minor home repairs. Yeah, they should stay open as long as possible.

**DeLemur** · April-02-20, 08:38 AM

The points that I made are true, and if they unsettle you I'm sorry to hear that. But it isn't my mental health you should be noting or worrying about - yes its offensive for you to question it.

Know what I said: restaurants will close and Detroit is one of the worst cities to handle a downturn. This is crystal clear, if you're paying attention. If my points make you think that Detroit will be back to the old Cass Corridor then its in your head not mine. That isn't what I said. Midtown will be fine.

Frankly I've known where Detroit is against its peers. I love Detroit and have been here a long time. I don't need Detroit to be Birmingham, Royal Oak or Ann Arbor for me to like it. I'm not heavily invested in the real estate and have to prop up the hype machine.

Living positively and with hope is key. So if that's your worry, then I'll shut up. Or if honestly about economic standing hurts the economy moving forward, I get that and will shut up. But if we're to be honest, then that's what my post was. Frankly before or after covid-19. Detroit, auto, oversupply of restaurants, inflated real estate, all of it was there.

Originally Posted by wazootyman

I worry about the mental health of some when I see posts like this. I mean no offense, what I mean is that we're all suffering with the headlines, being off-work, and the fear of the unknown.

Yeah, there's going to be some fallout. But the fundamental desire to live in urban areas and the neighborhood improvements don't just suddenly go away.

This is necessary to provide a bridge to the mass number of people that have been laid off [[most temporarily, we hope). The 200k estimate is just that - an estimate. These estimates have been all over the map since this started. Don't focus too closely on any one number.

Oh, and "the stock market is not the economy".

The automotive companies have been anticipating and preparing for a downturn for some time now. This obviously accelerates that greatly, but it's also possible that many purchases are deferred until this crisis ends. Tesla is not ripping anyone apart, and they're going to suffer from the same downturn. There were still 17 million new cars sold in 2019 [[a target that's been hit for 5 years in a row), though the trend was mostly flat [[and down in the non-SUV market). We won't see driverless cars for a long time, based on my understanding. What some manufacturers have now is impressive for what it is, but it's far from being truly driverless. It's that whole 10 % of the [[remaining) work requiring 90 % of the effort problem.

Some restaurants will close. Some restaurants will open in their place. This will be a dip, but in the end, we'll recover just fine I predict. Maybe not the boom times we've seen over the past 10 years, but I really don't think we're headed for another 2008. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but there's no sense getting buried in the doom & gloom.

**Lowell** · April-02-20, 11:53 PM

Imagine if, say two weeks from now, it was announced that a cure for Covid19 had been discovered. Sure, you could still catch it but after two pills and a night's sleep you would be over it.

Not very likely but, extended over time, that is what will happen--a vaccine will be developed and likely a cure or a partial cures will come too. It happened with the far more fearsome ebola and smallpox; it happened in large degree with tuberculosis and AIDS.

We will again crowd together in stadiums, restaurants, bars and we'll hug again. The only question is the length between now and then, how much economic damage will occur and whether that could cascade into a long-term downturn.

This is a true bulls vs. bears, cup half empty/ half full thread that underlines the challenge to our self confidence. Right now the train is still hurtling off the cliff and we don't know when it will stop. But it will.