Quote Originally Posted by casscorridor View Post
The prices for apartments downtown are too high for what you get. Maybe if downtown was vibrant with foot traffic late into the night, and a few decent grocery stores within walking distance. But downtown is sort desolate and spooky at night, and most people probably drive to get their groceries... not really what people are looking in an urban experience.
Not discounting your experience...here is how I do the comps.

[[1) Equivalent [[or less) price than downtown Royal Oak. Definitely downtown Birmingham.
[[2) Walk to Tiger Games, Fox Theatre...close drive to DIA, cultural district, musicals
[[3) Much more diversity. It's not all 20-30 something MSU grads. [[no offense to my MSU brethren)
[[4) Proximity to DTW and every major highway artery. When doing client visits, I like being no more than 15-20 minutes from every suburb. Ever do the drive from downtown Royal Oak into Plymouth? That's easily 1 hour +
[[5) For undergrad and grad students...pretty good living and close to campus
[[6) Decent percentage of highly educated population.
[[7) Being a part of something and shaping the community. Every victory in downtown Detroit is a victory for the entire region and state.

That said...are we pioneers? Yes. And being a pioneer means getting in early and dealing with the BS of being an early adopter. I assure you, when Grand Circus Park is full, vibrant, without any vacant buildings on the perimeter, it's not going to be $800-900 for 1 bdrm apartment.