The right perspective on preservation

[Novine]

"Quite a few; you should head down from sprawlsville when you have a chance. Compuware, Ernst & Young, and Quicken, to name a few. None would be downtown absent demolition of vacant structures or unused space. Want more? Comerica, Ford Field, MOT, Wayne State expansion; the list goes on."

Can I get directions to the Quicken building so I can take photos the next time I drive in from sprawlsville?

As to your point, what exactly is your point? Most of the new development you listed has been subsidized with huge tax breaks and other incentives. From a description of the Compuware project:

"For example, Compuware Corp., which moved its headquarters from Farmington Hills to Detroit last year, received about $80 million in tax breaks to relocate in Campus Martius. The city also gave Compuware the property for its 15-story, $800-million building for $1. The tax breaks included $52 million for property taxes, $10 million in single business tax credits and $18 million in personal property tax savings on the building's equipment and fixtures."

Comerica Park and Ford Field were subsidized with hundred of millions of taxpayer dollars. Wayne State expansion was funded with government dollars. The issue isn't whether taxpayer dollars will be spent. The issue is whether those millions will be spent to demolish and subsidize new buildings or used instead to rehab existing buildings.

More importantly, if we compare the success of the rehab efforts versus the demolition efforts, there's a strong case to be made that those who have pursued the route of restoration have accomplished more with less government dollars than the handful of new developments that have emerged from the DDA/DEGC demolition efforts. Also, let's not forget all of the demolition failures, the lots scattered around downtown created by demolition that have failed to result in new development.