One person isn't buying everything up. Just over the last few months.

- some developer bought the old milner hotel, turning it into the ashley thru rehab
- some guys bought the building on washington across from city apts with the salon in it, turning it into apartments
- the old ponchartrain got bought by a developer from mexico and is opening june 15 as a crowne plaza
- a developer just bought the giant old fire station bldg across from cobo, is making it a boutique hotel
- they just broke ground at the whitney building, and gilbert has nothing to do with that

and that's just off the top of my head without google. gilbert is just the most prominent of folks developing stuff right now, but he's certainly not the only, and not the only one undertaking major projects.