Bloomfield Park - What were they thinking?

**Lowell** · December-06-10, 09:42 AM

Suburban Detroit's most spectacular ruin site award has to belong to the abandoned Bloomfield Park development. It supplants the Fountain Walk disaster and surpasses it in that Fountain Walk was actually partially occupied and continues to struggle on mostly due the presence of the Emagine Theaters.

The scale of this disaster can only be appreciated by viewing large scale panoramas.
Please click here to see this view as a large scale image.

A forlorn construction site sign lies in the mud. The site, no longer fenced, secured or guarded, sits like an immense embarrassment astride Telegraph. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson wants it torn down, but in these distressed times of tight money and gross excess of residential and commercial property, Bloomfield Park seems likely to continue its mocking presence.

This undefined structure seemingly was to provide a gateway to the planned mixed residential and retail complex.
Click here to see this image large scale.

Click here to see this panorama large scale.

Panorama with unfinished parking lots on the south end. The cars on the left are parked for a drapery business, one of the scattering of businesses on Telegraph that abut the project. Such lots provide easy access to the unfenced, unposted and unguarded site.
Click here to see this panorama large scale.

One thing is immediately striking, the abundance of parking space. This massive structure at the south end of the project overlooks a peaceful wetland that was filled with ducks and blue heron on the day I captured this view.
Click here to see it large scale.

What do you think should be done with this project?

**detroiturbex** · December-06-10, 10:01 AM

Great pictures. Once you get close to it you realize just what a staggering waste the whole thing is.

**bailey** · December-06-10, 10:15 AM

clearly it should be torn down. However, all schadenfreude aside, would we be looking an empty and derelict structure if they'd gotten it off the ground in 2000 instead of trying to go forward in 2006? And lets not make false comparisons to Fountain Walk. Compare fountain walk [[an incredibly badly executed plan) to Partridge creek or the Village of Rochester hills. .... not to a 1.5 million square foot mixed use development that is more a victim of a crashing national economy than anything else.

**tiorted** · December-06-10, 10:19 AM

here is a link to the location on google maps

http://bit.ly/eqSdtJ

**Detroitnerd** · December-06-10, 10:57 AM

They thought it would never end. As soon as enough commercial activity started filling up the 15 million square feet in Troy, or the 12 million square feet in Southfield, they had to build something else to keep the commercial vacancy rate at 40 percent, you know? And if that isn't weird enough for you, the people who run Oakland County are sitting back, biding their time, pouring money into expanding Hall Road and waiting for "the growth machine" to be switched back on. How much longer can this go on?

**Lowell** · December-06-10, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

clearly it should be torn down. However, all schadenfreude aside, would we be looking an empty and derelict structure if they'd gotten it off the ground in 2000 instead of trying to go forward in 2006? And lets not make false comparisons to Fountain Walk. Compare fountain walk [[an incredibly badly executed plan) to Partridge creek or the Village of Rochester hills. .... not to a 1.5 million square foot mixed use development that is more a victim of a crashing national economy than anything else.

I think the comparison to Fountain Walk holds. Both projects attempted to glom onto existing large-scale retail developments [Twelve Oaks and Bloomfield Town Square] but each was isolated from the older developments, almost as if they were trying to one up and knock out the other, rather deriving an integrated plan. Just as BP was a victim of a crashing national economy, FW was victim of a then crashing State of MI economy.

IMO, Bloomfield Park would have met the same fate as Fountain Walk, anemic occupancy followed by collapse, reorganization and partial demolition.

**Johnlodge** · December-06-10, 11:22 AM

If I remember the story right, in order to get this horrible idea off the ground, the developers had to convince Pontiac to annex the parcel, since Bloomfield said no way. So this is basically a brand new ruin for a city that already has enough. Bet Northville/Livonia is happy Schostak didn't get away with the same bullshit, though they certainly tried. No doubt it would be another brand new ruin.

**GOAT** · December-06-10, 11:32 AM

Leave it as a reminder to the politicians that uncurbed sprawl, while it gives money today, will in the end be just huge sink-holes for tax dollars to be thrown into.

The idea it good in itself [[mixed-use residential and retail), we must find ways to do this within existing neighbourhoods. Whether or not that means demo'ing certain parts of neighbourhoods in order to incorporate a better design remains to be seen.

**1KielsonDrive** · December-06-10, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Johnlodge

If I remember the story right, in order to get this horrible idea off the ground, the developers had to convince Pontiac to annex the parcel, since Bloomfield said no way. So this is basically a brand new ruin for a city that already has enough. Bet Northville/Livonia is happy Schostak didn't get away with the same bullshit, though they certainly tried. No doubt it would be another brand new ruin.

Thanks JL. My thoughts exactly.

**Danny** · December-06-10, 01:04 PM

What a waste of a resources and capital.

**Gistok** · December-06-10, 01:24 PM

IIRC.... Craig Schubiner was the nane of the developer who wouldn't give up... and pitted one Oakland County entity against another [[West Bloomfield vs. Pontiac)... and I even remember Birmingham annexation was considered.

The end result is something that looks like a surreal North Korean failed development....

**mcsdetroitfriend** · December-06-10, 01:42 PM

Google street-view shows the construction in progress.

**luckycar** · December-06-10, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

IIRC.... Craig Schubiner was the nane of the developer who wouldn't give up... and pitted one Oakland County entity against another [[West Bloomfield vs. Pontiac)... and I even remember Birmingham annexation was considered.

The end result is something that looks like a surreal North Korean failed development....

That would be Bloomfield Twp.Just another Pontiac foul-up.The Wide-Track Loop around downtown,tearing down the county courthouse,depending on GM for decades.Oh,did I mention the Silverdome and a clownsil that makes Detroit look like professionals.

**Gistok** · December-06-10, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by luckycar

That would be Bloomfield Twp.Just another Pontiac foul-up.The Wide-Track Loop around downtown,tearing down the county courthouse,depending on GM for decades.Oh,did I mention the Silverdome and a clownsil that makes Detroit look like professionals.

The Oakland County government campus is a rather low key sprawling group of buildings along Telegraph Rd.... facing another white elephant... Summit Place Mall....

As was mentioned on another thread... Macomb County did a much better job of consolidating their county government in a nice tidy downtown Mt. Clemens location.... that pretty much says this is the County Seat. It's almost impossible to tell that Pontiac is Oakland's County Seat.

**bailey** · December-06-10, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by Gistok

The Oakland County government campus is a rather low key sprawling group of buildings along Telegraph Rd.... facing another white elephant... Summit Place Mall....

As was mentioned on another thread... Macomb County did a much better job of consolidating their county government in a nice tidy downtown Mt. Clemens location.... that pretty much says this is the County Seat. It's almost impossible to tell that Pontiac is Oakland's County Seat.

Exactly. Pontiac would be a different place if the complex at 1200 Telegraph was never built. When did that place get built? Does the county have any presence in downtown Pontiac any more?

**JBMcB** · December-06-10, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

IMO, Bloomfield Park would have met the same fate as Fountain Walk, anemic occupancy followed by collapse, reorganization and partial demolition.

I wouldn't call the Fountain Walk a complete disaster. It was overbuilt and, as far as creating a downtown environment, not close to it's goal. However, there are plenty of businesses there. Emagine, Lucky's/whatever that club is called, Hooters, Rojo, BW3, Great Indoors... You can pass judgement as to the, ahm, quality of the tenants, but I see the parking lot pretty busy when I drive by every day.

On a related note, anyone know what the big empty lot just to the east of Bloomfield Park was? An old Google Maps image showed something that looked like an orchard, or a drive-in theater.

It's in between the two ponds and Wrenn street in this map:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...01545&t=h&z=17

**Lowell** · December-06-10, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by JBMcB

On a related note, anyone know what the big empty lot just to the east of Bloomfield Park was? An old Google Maps image showed something that looked like an orchard, or a drive-in theater.

Future site of Bloomfield Park East?

Yeah the south end of Fountain Walk [the fountain is long gone BTW] is holding on, but to the north, beyond the demolition zone, it is in desperate shape. A giant Dick's Sporting Goods is all there is and I am guessing they are calling their price if not getting it for free. Many spaces have never been occupied.

DetroitDad · December-06-10, 11:35 PM

I love the picture that looks like a the building is sinking into the swamp. The giant awning reminds me of an old train depot platform cover, of some sort.

**Fiddler** · December-06-10, 11:56 PM

On a related note, anyone know what the big empty lot just to the east of Bloomfield Park was? An old Google Maps image showed something that looked like an orchard, or a drive-in theater.

It is the old Miracle Mile Drive In.

**Gistok** · December-07-10, 02:57 AM

Originally Posted by bailey

Exactly. Pontiac would be a different place if the complex at 1200 Telegraph was never built. When did that place get built? Does the county have any presence in downtown Pontiac any more?

Bailey... not only did they hurt downtown Pontiac by moving over to their "corporate campus" at Telegraph Rd., but I think they helped killed downtown Pontiac with Wide Track Drive.

In Mt. Clemens they took care of the problem with "thru" traffic by making North and South Gratiot [[thru downtown) only 1 block apart... but in Pontiac... they just bypassed their downtown completely with that ring road.

**Meddle** · December-07-10, 05:44 AM

From GoogleEarth;

**Novine** · December-07-10, 07:29 AM

Fountain Walk's troubles shouldn't be a surprise. While Novi's economic development person thought Fountain Walk would do OK, he warned of an oversaturated retail market. Neither of the developments mentioned in the article have ever been fully built-out. The other development at Grand River and Wixom Roads still has a large vacant parcel for a big-box that hasn't been built.

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0...ail-plans.html

**stromberg2** · December-07-10, 04:40 PM

"A giant Dick's Sporting Goods", now that's funny!!

Stromberg2

**Packman41** · December-07-10, 06:17 PM

Was it a waste of resources and capital? Yes, absolutely.
Was it a bad idea from the start? Yes, I believe so.
Did the developer game the system? Yes, he worked two/three ends against the middle

But at least the capital that was wasted was private capital and did not come from the taxpayers as a subsidy or from some municipal pension fund.

In our society the free and open marketplace of supply and demand is the final judge of what is economically feasible.

I would rather have the free marketplace decide as opposed to some governmental agency that controls what should be and should not be built – within the existing building codes and zoning.

Some projects are bound to fail just because of the economy. At one time some of the commercial buildings that are now being foreclosed and some of the buildings now selling at all-time, record low prices were successful. But now the marketplace said they are losers.

Should government officials have had the right to stop those building from being built? When did the government all of the sudden become clairvoyant and know for certain which project would succeed and which would fail?