MGM invests $1 million in downtown garden

[ebutka]

Sorry if this is already posted somewhere... but I didn't see anything.

Nice to see MGM give back a bit. Seems like a nice use for the abundance of parking lots in the CBD, although it doesn't do much for the density aspect... better than gravel though!



MGM Grand Casino broke ground this morning on what promises to be downtown’s only big community garden and one of the largest and most elaborate gardens in the city.

Created in partnership with the nonprofit Greening of Detroit organization, the MGM Grand garden will occupy 1.8 acres at Third and Plum near the casino. It includes a 60-by-96-foot greenhouse, and eventually will include bee keeping for honey, berms with fruit trees, and training programs for both children and adults interested in growing food inside the city.

The site is a gravel parking lot, which prompted Rebecca Salminen Witt, president of the Greening of Detroit, to tell an audience at the ground-breaking ceremony, “We hear a lot about vacant space in our city. We see that as an opportunity.”

George Jackson, president of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., said the garden fits into Mayor Dave Bing’s plans to nurture a greener, more environmentally sustainable city.

“We think this is outstanding, and my hat’s off to MGM Grand,” he said.

Jeff Jackson, director of engineering for MGM Grand, said the garden has been in planning for about a year. MGM Grand has purchased the gravel lot from nearby DTE Energy. Decades ago, the lot had been the site of horse stables and later a gas station, he said.

Of Detroit’s several hundred community, school, and family gardens, almost all are run on a shoe-string, usually with volunteer labor and often with donated seeds. The $1 million MGM Grand plans to invest marks this newest garden as all but unique in the city.

MGM Grand said that Greening of Detroit will distribute the food grown in the garden, and that produce sales to local restaurants will be used to fund the site’s overall operation.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010073...owntown-garden

[Detroitnerd]

Better than gravel, but not as good as ... say ... a city?

[marcwigle]

Better than gravel, but not as good as ... say ... a city?

Give them some credit for doing their bit... BTW, I believe that the vacant lot count in Detroit is what? 60,000? There is LOTS of room left in Detroit to build a city.

[Detroitnerd]

Give them some credit for doing their bit... BTW, I believe that the vacant lot count in Detroit is what? 60,000? There is LOTS of room left in Detroit to build a city.

Nah. I won't give them credit. I will, however, give credit to DTE's real estate subsidiary, SYNDECO, for turning that part of downtown into a gravel lot and destroying the 19th century neighborhood that was there. As for this touted "green space," this is more appropriately described as "greenwashing." Probably one person walks out of that casino a month and commits suicide, so they have to do something to "give back" to the community. Even if it's a garden in an institutional part of town that nobody will go to.

Oh, yes. Lots of room to build a city. Except downtown. That's where our city fathers are busy building "green space." What a fookin' joke.

[marcwigle]

Nah. I won't give them credit. I will, however, give credit to DTE's real estate subsidiary, SYNDECO, for turning that part of downtown into a gravel lot and destroying the 19th century neighborhood that was there. As for this touted "green space," this is more appropriately described as "greenwashing." Probably one person walks out of that casino a month and commits suicide, so they have to do something to "give back" to the community. Even if it's a garden in an institutional part of town that nobody will go to.

Oh, yes. Lots of room to build a city. Except downtown. That's where our city fathers are busy building "green space." What a fookin' joke.

Jesus Murphy... if you want to talk about how bad casinos are and how bad the neighbourhood is now compared to the past... fine. I'm not an expert on what the area looked like prior and I have never been a supporter of casinos. I was ONLY commenting on "gravel parking lot" vs "green space". Given a choice, I'll vote for green space.

[Detroitnerd]

Jesus Murphy... if you want to talk about how bad casinos are and how bad the neighbourhood is now compared to the past... fine. I'm not an expert on what the area looked like prior and I have never been a supporter of casinos. I was ONLY commenting on "gravel parking lot" vs "green space". Given a choice, I'll vote for green space.

That's one of the reasons they get away with their BS about how they're "improving" Detroit ... people don't know the history. And so "Detroit" becomes a wonderful blizzard of upbeat press releases about "green spaces" and "improvements" -- none of which involve actual city-building.

[Detroit Stylin]

Give them some credit for doing their bit... BTW, I believe that the vacant lot count in Detroit is what? 60,000? There is LOTS of room left in Detroit to build a city.

So there the mystery has been answered...

[Jimaz]

I'm just wondering what kind of garden do you get for a million bucks? That must be one fancy garden!

[Patrick]

Now that might make the other two casinos think that they may have to one-up their competitor and give the city something better.

[R8RBOB]

Not impressed. After making money for 11 years in the city of Detroit, MGM wants to put a garden in downtown. Not that I'm against a garden but a 1 million dollar garden is a drop in the bucket for MGM. I love to gamble like the next man but I wish the casinos never came to Detroit. We are no better than we were 11 years ago.

[gnome]

You do know that the deal is not a million dollar park, but it is a grant to Greening of Detroit AND the donation of the land so GoD can operate the garden for years and years to come.

The newspaper article is not very clear. And ensuing posters have jumped to laughable contusions with their editorialized re-writes of history and fact. Nothing new there.

The real deal is that GoD gets some money coupled with the ability to make more money, the area gets something a little more attractive than a gravel lot, and best of all detroitnerd gets something to complain about. He's always so happy making everyone else miserable, that it looks like this deal is a triple win.

[ghettopalmetto]

The real deal is that GoD gets some money coupled with the ability to make more money, the area gets something a little more attractive than a gravel lot, and best of all detroitnerd gets something to complain about. He's always so happy making everyone else miserable, that it looks like this deal is a triple win.

Ah, the old Expect Nothing and Be Happy When They Throw You Crumbs bit.

Perhaps you're thrilled about this, gnome, but I suspect that many Detroiters have higher expectations than the patronizing "greening" of a gravel lot that never should have existed.

[WayneMan]

I wish MGM would invest more in Detroit than just a garden, they have the ability to do much more than that. However, a million dollar investment is better than nothing, I guess.

[jfk]

I wish MGM would invest more in Detroit than just a garden, they have the ability to do much more than that. However, a million dollar investment is better than nothing, I guess.

With a 24% wagering tax paid to the city by the three casino's, I think they do enough.

[cub]

It's not a community garden. It's an educational/vegetable tranplant[[seedling) farm. Students will learn how to plant, maintain, and harvest while earning a few dollars. It will also help supply the Garden Resource Program with much needed vegetable transplants for Community, School and Family/ Market Gardens. The GRP has grown by 50% or more for the last three years.

[Gistok]

Thanks for bringing this into focus Cub. I guess that this is a much better way for MGM to help Detroit that putting up monuments or planting a city flower garden.... but it does seem like an odd place to put such an enterprise.

[Kirby]

Why all the complaining? I don't get it. What could be worse than a gravel lot? It's things like this that attract people to the area. If we keep doing what we've always done how can we expect anything to change?