The biggest problem with many buildings in Detroit is the lack of demand so you really have to look at creating a demand for the specific building in order to make it feasible.

An example of this is Mr. Gilbert what he is doing is buying buildings that will complement the demand that he has created making them once again desirable and enhancing the value.

So with the case of MCS as a transit facility how would you create the demand to make it feasible to rehabilitate as an asset to the community.

You have the Wolverine line being created from Chicago to Detroit,with a boutique hotel in the station and the line using the station you could have tourists coming to Detroit and staying at the hotel,so you have now created a use and supplemented the tourist trade.Adding jobs and revenue to the community.

Residents from Detroit could then use the station to travel to Chicago while leaving their car in secured parking for the weekend for a small fee of course or they could take the bus to the station and not even need to park,same as taking the street car.

So now you have a train stop a bus stop a street car stop a hotel,parking and a destination for tourists all generating revenue.Now you can throw in a few gift shops and maybe even a tourist shuttle to explore the city and of course all those things need employees which are jobs and additional small business options.

You need a RTA so why not have an office there?

You have a tunnel that needs expanding so it could be expanded to use MCS and have the customs office there ,more jobs and revenue.

Now you can add Amtrak as they do not need so much space and could offer a smaller monthly payment.

As a transit center now you could add Greyhound bus lines to the mix.

Personally I think it would be desirable to have lofts in the top floors as transit would be at your feet.

Because it is transit related it opens up FTA funds for not only the station but also Corktown improvements,so now you have taken a derelict building and not only enhanced it as an asset to the city you have used it to create jobs,expand public transportation for the entire region,added possibilities for the tourism industry and more jobs,and became a center point for building a stronger surrounding community.

It does not take billions and it can be done using already available funding and the support of the community to get it started and yes also a lot of things need to fall into place but if you look closely they already are in place but they need a bit of direction as to their finial stop.