What a mess at the District Detroit Project!

[Danny]

Since 2017 Illitches were large and in charge for the New Little Caesars Area, the new home for the Red Wings and the Pistons. Now most of their buildings that surround the south Cass Corridor Area remains a 'Parthenon' like ruins. It comes to show that Illitches are not in the real estate businesses, they are in the entertainment and Pizza Pizza business.

Here are the sources.

https://www.wxyz.com/news/ilitches-t...ogKrCQOS9_0kX0

[Gistok]

Yes, and a lot of forumers on DYES saw right thru the Ilitches bullshit. We already knew that they were going to use the same lame excuses that they did after Comerica Park went up.

The city should start playing hardball, and no longer close roadsides around the arena to parking.

As to feeding from the public trough for the United Artists Building development... they should say NO to tearing down the theatre. It's the Ilitches fault for it to getting so decrepit, so they should not be given any more public money.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

At least the Eddystone is looking pretty nice. Anyone know when it might be finished?

I wonder if there’s a slight chance that a successful launch of the Eddystone might prod them to move forward elsewhere. Most likely not but it would seem logical.

[JK313]

I believe it’s supposed to be finished this fall. Olympia’s Twitter had some photos showing the insides of rooms and it looked like they were getting pretty close to finished

[Seven&wyo]

At least the Eddystone is looking pretty nice. Anyone know when it might be finished?

I wonder if there’s a slight chance that a successful launch of the Eddystone might prod them to move forward elsewhere. Most likely not but it would seem logical.

I think that alone is giving the Ilitchs too much credit. I don’t think this family knows anything outside of shit pizza and sports [[that theyre failing at). I don’t think Chris is a very good business man as much as just a guy with the word CEO slapped before his name. I don’t think he’s ever heard the saying “You have to done money to make money” Thank god for Gilbert

[JonWylie]

The most annoying part about this whole ordeal is that Olympia clearly knows how to build quality structures that add to the urban environment. I dislike them as much as the next guy, but the 10% of things they have actually done seem to be actually pretty high quality. However, the 90% they don't do or tear down just completely negates any positive they had.

It's like they are dangling what could be in front of us to and then pulling it away at the last moment.

[casscorridor]

The Illitch family are Detroit's greatest scam artists and corporate welfare queens.

No, they are not developers, but they could easily sell or lease land to developers on which to build. But they don't want to do this, because that might mean potential competition to their shitty bars and restaurants.

Instead, they dangle the mirage of "coming soon" over the perpetually gullible city council.

[KnnNike]

The Illitch family are Detroit's greatest scam artists and corporate welfare queens.

No, they are not developers, but they could easily sell or lease land to developers on which to build. But they don't want to do this, because that might mean potential competition to their shitty bars and restaurants.

Instead, they dangle the mirage of "coming soon" over the perpetually gullible city council.

Eh, I'd still place them behind the Morouns. The Morouns never built *anything*, they only wish to gobble up the works of others and either profit from them [[Ambassador Bridge) or actively destroy them [[Michigan Central Station)

[CrashDummy]

I don’t think he’s ever heard the saying “You have to done money to make money”

I think that's a safe bet. Then again, very few of us have heard that saying before.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Who says District Detroit isn’t doing things? She has a nice District Detroit safety vest!

[hybridy]

Who says District Detroit isn’t doing things? She has a nice District Detroit safety vest!

Hi Meredith! We worked at the same company way back when.
https://twitter.com/OlympiaDetroit/s...78686620307456

https://ilitchnewshub.com/2020/12/a-look-inside-the-former-hotel-eddystone-with-two-women-helping-lead-its-revitalization/

[Danny]

Still a lot to go. It took a while for the Eddystone Hotel to be rebuilt.

[ABetterDetroit]

Danny got it right in post #1

It looks like a “mess” around the LCA. I would have used a four letter word that starts with S. Half built God knows what rusting away for years wrapped in plastic, cyclone fences around empty lots wrapped in more of the same. Plus the last of the buildings they didn’t succeed in demolishing quite yet boarded up that just get sprayed with paint guns.

How the Ilitches can hold their head up when Gilbert is in the same room is beyond me. They must have gave away all their pride just to sell more cardboard pizza boxes to franchises. One would think if anyone had their wealth they would have a lot of pride but it appears they have about as much as a shady aluminum siding salesman. Go figure.

[bust]

Even less surprising than Kwame Kilpatrick "finding the light."

[hybridy]

How the Ilitches can hold their head up when Gilbert is in the same room is beyond me.

Sounds about right. Here's a blurb about some roof planters.
https://ilitchnewshub.com/2021/06/gr...-pizza-garden/

[Gistok]

Sounds about right. Here's a blurb about some roof planters.
https://ilitchnewshub.com/2021/06/gr...-pizza-garden/

Thanks for the link.

What a lovely view from that terrace towards the Ilitches still boarded up Blenheim Apartments on Park Ave. They really have no shame...

[Lowell]

Do the Ilitch‘s own any residential rental properties?


The thing that strikes me about District Detroit is it’s soulless feel. It exudes a cold lifelessness, “Come here, spend all your money, get in your car, and go home’” feel.


There is no attempt to embed it a breathing community with vibrant street life as was displayed in their pitch images. All we have, other than around event times, is a cold and concrete people desert. Cold and concrete like their business. That’s their right. But it isn’t right.

[EGrant]

I couldn't help but notice what Milwaukee did with their arena district [[built recently) during last night's Bucks-Nets game. Of course having a winning basketball team helps with the vibrancy, but their district [[The Deer District) has restaurants, bars, a plaza with year-round events, apartments, office space and a planned hotel and condos. It's everything the District Detroit isn't.

[Richard]

^ strange isn’t it,stadium’s have been around sense the Roman days but yet cities have not been able to figure out how to make them a year round access to the cities.

They are like the highways,used to clear cut an undesirable section of town and investing in it without really investing in it.

[Wesley Mouch]

...
There is no attempt to embed it a breathing community with vibrant street life as was displayed in their pitch images. All we have, other than around event times, is a cold and concrete people desert. Cold and concrete like their business. That’s their right. But it isn’t right.

Its not their right. We granted it. We supported the nice 'pitch images' and said 'oh, that's so beautiful', and we spent. We supported.

I think the Ilitch's believe in their vision of a 'so beautiful' world. Its popular here to say that they are disingenuous. I don't think so, and I've attended meetings with them on development. They believe. But once the main mission of a new shiny building is built, the shiny 'pitch images' stay on the walls, but there's no institutional support to do anything except look at the redevelopment porn. Gilbert realized he could make more money by redevelopment. Increasing the value of his investments. The Ilitches, IMO, promote people who increase current revenues. Nobody there believes that redevelopment sells one more Coke. Development is just something you have to do to keep the sales rolling tomorrow. People on this blog want redevelopment for its own intangible benefits.

So what to do? Stop giving the Ilitches any power to control redevelopment. Let them build shiny offices, arenas, and pizza stores. And accept that they are not developers beyond their desire to get a new building.

[Zads07]

Could've seen this coming in the 1990s. I despise Olympia "Demolition" and their empty promises. I'm tired of the city giving them money just to tear more buildings down.

[Sandhouse]

When I saw plans for the access routes to the parking lots, I was appalled at how much of the north side of downtown has been given over to parking for the three stadia. Even the street layout is being re-oriented to favor speedy movement between the parking lots and the freeways.

[Henry Whalley]

For some reason, I thought of the movie 'Brazil' made in 1985.

[Danny]

Gilbert should have lead the District Detroit Project instead of the Illitches. That area should have hotels, retails and luxury apts.

Instead we got this...

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3413...7i16384!8i8192

And this...


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3409...7i16384!8i8192

And this...


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3416...7i16384!8i8192

And this...


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3392...7i16384!8i8192

What a mess!

[Ray1936]

The thing that strikes me about District Detroit is it’s soulless feel. It exudes a cold lifelessness, “Come here, spend all your money, get in your car, and go home’” feel.

That's funny; that's what lots of folks say about my adopted home of Las Vegas. Oh, well.