Quote Originally Posted by gthomas View Post
That's one thing that pisses me off the most about the "NON" downtown/midtown cheerleaders, they seem to always forget that "DESPITE" being in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the great depression, there IS a demand for affordable housing ESPECIALLY in MIDTOWN/DOWNTOWN with 97% or so occupied, with more demands coming. Don't compare the rest of the city with this area. No comparison...
There is indeed current demand, gthomas, but the Euro crisis, the Chinese bubble and the higher education bubble all introduce major uncertainties into the global and local economies. If current demand continues or improves, investments can turn out fine. If demand turns down, new investors could join the many others who bet on Detroit and lost money. By showing a willingness to use its assets to stimulate demand, the city can improve investors' odds. Right now the DIA collection provides limited benefits to Detroit's public -- the city's only mobilizing its cultural value. It could mobilize the DIA collection's many, many billions in financial value too, creating a Detroit Arts Endowment that supports the arts, sciences and humanities communities as well as essential services.

Those few hundred million in extra annual revenues going into the local economy could make an enormous difference to investor confidence, as would the endowment with billions in stocks and bonds. Yeah, stocks and bonds shouldn't make investors feels any more secure in Detroit's future than the artworks the city already owns -- after all, the DIA's collection gained billions of dollars in capital appreciation last year alone! -- but investors are funny that way, and would generally like to see Detroit more liquid than it already is.