How 2 cities revived their train stations and ideas for MCS.

**Zacha341** · November-29-09, 01:26 PM

Indeed it was the "Ellis Island" for my elders. My parents, several of their siblings, cousins, etc. all migrated to Michigan from southern states ala the black south to north industrial migration of the 40's - 50's onward from trains at that station!! They did not fly in via Metro Airport.

Originally Posted by Gistok

Nice article! Several other train stations that have undergone adaptive reuse were Cincinnati's Art Deco masterpiece, now a group of museums, and Indianapolis's Union Station, now like St. Louis... a marketplace.

The video clip mentions something that I chided the "rip it down" crowd on in previous threads.... that MCS is indeed our own Ellis Island.... but as is the case with Ellis Island, the vast throngs that came thru MCS as their entry portal to Detroit are mostly no longer alive...

Bearinabox · November-29-09, 01:46 PM

I don't see why the tower needs to be completely renovated or demolished. Just seal it up enough to prevent structural damage from exposure to the elements, and make sure nobody is able to go up there and vandalize it. The visual impact of the station as a whole is preserved, and nobody has to foot the bill to renovate all that unneeded space to the point where it's usable again. Hell, maybe even let anyone who's interested renovate as much of the tower as they want, and then give them that amount of space free and clear to use as they see fit. If nobody bites, then no harm done.

**iheartthed** · November-29-09, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Bearinabox

I don't see why the tower needs to be completely renovated or demolished. Just seal it up enough to prevent structural damage from exposure to the elements, and make sure nobody is able to go up there and vandalize it. The visual impact of the station as a whole is preserved, and nobody has to foot the bill to renovate all that unneeded space to the point where it's usable again. Hell, maybe even let anyone who's interested renovate as much of the tower as they want, and then give them that amount of space free and clear to use as they see fit. If nobody bites, then no harm done.

I would think that if they were able to open the building as a train station again then the tower could be a hotel.

And didn't it cost about $200M to do the Book Cadillac? I understand $200M is a lot, but it's not a price tag that we haven't already seen in Detroit before. I remember people speaking on this forum about a development in Grand Rapids a couple years back with a cost that was above the billion dollar mark.

If this became some type of mixed use project like a train station/hotel/shopping complex, it would be one of a kind in southeast Michigan. The only type of mixed used development that comes close is the Ren Cen.

**mcsdetroitfriend** · November-29-09, 03:35 PM

Difference between buffalo and detroit is that detroit has a billion dollar company behind it. Find them 2 to three anchor tenants and MCS has a future, from what Stamper said in the article it seems that's all it will take "Financing is not an issue"

Unfortunatly the "Wayne's World" philosophy of 'If you build it they will come' [[Aerosmith!?!?) isn't true in this situation.

Glad someone brought up Buffalo, it's only the second train station in the US to have Guastavino arches as a centerpiece which makes MCS that much more unique.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashtonpar/sets/72157621895120054/ [[Reminders of the better days and what could happen in the future!)

Bearinabox · November-29-09, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

Difference between buffalo and detroit is that detroit has a billion dollar company behind it. Find them 2 to three anchor tenants and MCS has a future, from what Stamper said in the article it seems that's all it will take "Financing is not an issue"

If that's all Moroun is waiting on, you'd think he'd be making some effort to market the place to prospective tenants, or at least to seal it from the elements and keep it from decaying further in order to minimize renovation costs down the road. The man isn't stupid--he must know that leaving the station to rot in hopes that "two to three anchor tenants" will see the potential and come knock on his door is not an effective development strategy. As you say, financing is not an issue for him. So what are we to conclude about Moroun's motivations? To me, he's sending a very clear signal that he is not serious about fixing up the building.

**mcsdetroitfriend** · November-29-09, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Bearinabox

If that's all Moroun is waiting on, you'd think he'd be making some effort to market the place to prospective tenants, or at least to seal it from the elements and keep it from decaying further in order to minimize renovation costs down the road. The man isn't stupid--he must know that leaving the station to rot in hopes that "two to three anchor tenants" will see the potential and come knock on his door is not an effective development strategy. As you say, financing is not an issue for him. So what are we to conclude about Moroun's motivations? To me, he's sending a very clear signal that he is not serious about fixing up the building.

Have you seen the front entrance in the last couple weeks? Looks blocked off to me, though for whatever reason the side entrance hasn't been done yet, but I haven't been by in a week so that might be different now.

Bearinabox · November-29-09, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by mcsdetroitfriend

Have you seen the front entrance in the last couple weeks? Looks blocked off to me, though for whatever reason the side entrance hasn't been done yet, but I haven't been by in a week so that might be different now.

Once the front entrance is blocked off, a renovation is sure to follow.