I drove along Atwater yesterday and there is still a severe lack of development along the riverfront, other than the RiverWalk. Is it just due to a lack of money? With all of the vacant waterfront property on both sides of Atwater Street, the City still can't find developers eager to build residential and retail developments? Is it just due to a lack of money? Or is there something else at play? Is the city afraid that if you build along the riverfront, wealthier residents will move from their neighborhoods such as Boston Edison, Palmer Park, Sherwood Forest, and Indian Village, depleting the viability of those neighborhoods?

The stretch of riverfront along Atwater from the GM/RenCen, to Stroh River Place could hold thousands of residents and retail. Orleans Landing is a start, but it could have been designed to hold more residents and offer some bonified retail for restaurants and shops. There was an announcement back in 2020 or 2021 that a new residential development just west of Orleans Landing was going to be in the works. I haven't heard anything or seen an ounce of dirt turned, indicating its start.

I have a ton of additional questions. Is much of the land still held by property owners waiting for the city to give them a bigger payout than what's reasonable? Are environmental issues with properties keeping developers at bay? Is the city holding on to land to award it only to Detroit/Minority based developers? Or is it due to a lack of vision on the part of the powers that be? Do other cities have these same kinds of issues when it comes to developing their riverfronts? I'm at a loss as to why it's taking so long for development along Detroit's riverfront to get started. Somebody help make sense of this. And thank you in advance.