If Detroit Got a Mall, Where Would You Put It?

[Detroitnerd]

It's not about adding more commercial space, it's about adding big city amenities. You have to build stuff for people to do so that they will come. Do you think the Miracle Mile in Chicago or 5th Ave in New York, or dozens of other examples of urban shopping districts are all terrible ideas? A development like this isn't going to rely exclusively on the patronage of regional residents like suburban malls. It will draw in tourists, game-goers, convention-goers, show-goers, business travelers and Windsorites. While I'd love to see some high-end stores open on Woodward, those commercial spaces are not going make good sense for large chain retailers, but rather will accommodate smaller boutiques. Lower Woodward will most likely develop into coffee shops, cafes, bars and restaurants, and little shops with lofts above. Macy's needs a larger space where it can be flanked by other destination stores. People want concentrated shopping, and when you build it into a walkable urban area, I think it is especially appealing. People will go there just to say they went there and bought a T-Shirt from "____ Store Detroit."

I disagree. This is putting the cart [[symbols of prosperity) before the horse [[infrastructure and services).

Ever hear of cargo cults? They were tribal peoples on islands who watched the military come through, setting up supply lines, airstrips, radio towers, and plane after plane loaded with beautiful and useful things started landing. Well, after the war was over, the planes stopped landing. So the tribsemen built their own landing strips, with radio shacks, operators with coconut headphones, torches lighting the runway, etc., all in hopes that the great planes would come bearing gifts.

That's what a lot of these ideas for downtown remind me of. If only we built the trappings of a prosperous area [[suburbia! with all its malls!), then the eventual prosperity would arrive.

In truth, there's plenty of room for anybody who wants it. Big chain stores don't have a problem setting up a location in New York. That's because New York has a hole in the ground that 100,000 people an hour come out of.

Establish light rail service. Jump-start pedestrian traffic. Attract development. Fill what's empty first. But please don't rush off to build acres and acres of shopping space when we can't even keep what's built full.