The Villages : Buzz

The Belle Isle Conservancy is like Switzerland. It will work for the greater good of the island park with nearly everyone who comes to the table.

An excerpt from this Q&A with the group's president Michele Hodges:

It’s important to be open to options and find the model that is going to work best for the city of Detroit. Certainly, one of the models is the Central Park Conservancy (in New York). When they started out in the 1980s, Central Park was in far worse condition than Belle Isle. And they found one project, their Dairy Barn, which was their starting point, and look where they’ve come since then.

They've come a long way, indeed. Read on and watch the video here.

So nice to see observers from distant lands (sure, northern Florida qualifies) come up to one of Detroit's historic neighborhoods and see the simple, elegant beauty of the place. Well done, Metro Jacksonville.com, well done.

An excerpt:

Indian Village is a historic neighborhood located on Detroit's east side and is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The district has a number of architecturally significant homes built in the early 20th century. A number of the houses have been substantially restored, and most others well kept up.

Many of the homes were built by prominent architects such as Albert Kahn, Louis Kamper and William Stratton for some of the area's most prominent citizens such as Edsel Ford. Many of the homes are very large, with some over 12,000 square feet. Many have a carriage house, with some of those being larger than an average suburban home. Some of the houses also have large amounts of Pewabic Pottery tiles. The neighborhood contains many historic homes including the automotive entrepreneur Henry Leland, founder of Lincoln and Cadillac, who resided on Seminole Street.

And there's more. Read on here.

Pewabic Pottery invites metro Detroiters to shop local this holiday season at its annual Holiday Shopping Night on Wednesday, Dec. 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
 
Guests can join in celebration for a night of tasty holiday snacking, live entertainment courtesy of the Jazz Merchants and great discounts. To top it off, shoppers can find the perfect gift for loved ones from a selection of beautifully handcrafted ceramics by more than 100 artists. 
 
The night will be full of surprises with giveaways every 30 minutes, and "special purchases" available throughout the evening. Upon entry, visitors will receive a numbered ticket, entering them for a chance to win Pewabic items including ornaments, t-shirts, and even an iridescent vase valued at $100.
 
In addition to the great deals, Pewabic Society members will receive double their regular discount (up to 20 percent).
 
"The Holiday Shopping Night is a fun year-end celebration, filled with surprises, entertainment and holiday cheer" said Barbara Sido, executive director of Pewabic Pottery. "It’s a great opportunity for metro Detroiters to shop local and support community artists."
 
Visitors can also take this time to view Pewabic Pottery’s annual holiday exhibition, Earthy Treasures, on display through Dec. 30.

To learn more about Pewabic Pottery call 313-626-2000 or go here. Pewabic Pottery is at 10125 E. Jefferson Ave. in Detroit across from Waterworks Park.

From our friends at Mode Shift Move Together, a list of the four new and permanent retail spaces being developed in West Village this spring:

Craft Work, a restaurant and bar formed by a partnership between Michael Geiger and Hugh Yarro, the restaurateur involved in Ronan Sushi in Royal Oak and Commonwealth Café in Birmingham;
Detroit Vegan Soul, a healthy soul food restaurant, catering service, and meal-delivery operation -- and Hatch 2012 semi-finalist -- owned by Kirsten Ussery and Erica Boyd;
The Red Hook, a coffee and baked goods shop;
Tarot & Tea, a tea room, bulk tea purveyor, and retail goods shop that is the brain child of Nefertiti Harris, a successful Midtown business owner.

Sounds great. Read more here.

One of the things we love about Josh Linkner is he's never afraid to punctuate his thoughts in a way everyone can understand -- like comparing Detroit real estate to precious metals, gold in particular.

It's all here in a piece Linkner penned for Forbes, no less.

An excerpt:

Within a five-block radius from the downtown Detroit epicenter, you can buy a vacant building. Yes, building. My business partner Dan Gilbert has purchased approximately 3 million square feet of commercial property in the heart of downtown Detroit over the last few years through his firm, Bedrock Real Estate Services.

Read on here.

We'll keep it short and simple: all need you need to know is that the Villages, a fabulous, historically-significant neighborhood a quick jog or bike ride from downtown, is hosting a real estate tour of select properties this weekend. More info here.

It coincides with the re-emergence of the pop-up Tashmoo Biergarten, which will pour Michigan craft beers Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. More on the beer here.

Looked what dropped in our laps just as we were going to digital press on Monday: an invite to an anniversary celebration at historic Pewabic Pottery, which turns 109 years young this Saturday, March 10.

There will a special birthday party event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public is invited to attend the free celebration, which will feature complimentary guided tours, demonstrations, birthday cake, refreshments and hourly door prize giveaways.
 
Guided tours will begin at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. and will feature a first look at the nonprofit’s new history tour plaques, which were purchased through funding from the Michigan Humanities Council and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. In addition, guests will have a chance to see the pottery’s recently restored 105-year-old historic chimney.

For more info go here.

The pictures say it all. Well, no: Data Driven Detroit's Kurt Metzger and his charts say it all during episode 11 of DetroitUnspunTV. Plan to spend a good half hour getting an education on proper council re-districting that manages to keep the integrity of neighborhoods intact. Metzger knows his stuff.

Watch the video, commercial free, here.

A new initiative by a Detroit Jewish federation hopes to raise $100,000 across the nation -- and use that money to bring 25 young leaders to the city.

The "Live Detroit" fund, administered by CommunityNEXT, will provide $3,000 annual subsidies to 25 young people who agree, in turn, to host monthly events to inspire more area suburbanites to re-explore the D. CommunityNEXT leaders hope the subsidies will be the first step to rebuilding an active Jewish population in the city.

Excerpt:

Like other hyphenated Americans, Jews have left for the suburbs from the inner cities where they first settled when they came to the United States. The city of Detroit has a rich Jewish heritage and was once dotted with a few dozen synagogues. But today, it has only one free-standing congregation left, the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue.

Mazel Tov. Find out more here.

The Christian Science Monitor made Detroit the subject of an exhaustive cover story on the struggle between the city's power players -- union heads, city officials, neighborhood leaders, and more -- to create a plan for right-sizing both the city's landscape and services it provides to citizens. This article digs beyond the cliches to provide a balanced look at the varied interests and stakeholders involved in Detroit's immediate plans for renewal, from the Mayor's office to the one-acre urban farm.

Excerpt:

Evidence of that small-town environment is the escalation of urban farms in Detroit that are repurposing empty lots. There are 875 urban farms and community gardens operating throughout the city, a network of which is providing affordable, pesticide-free food at neighborhood farmers' markets, restaurants and retail outlets, according to Detroit Works Project data. Green growth is everywhere – from small tomato plantings in a patch of a corner lot on a residential street to large orchard tracts planned by John Hantz, a local businessman who plans to build "the world's largest urban farm" in Detroit.Read the rest of the story here.

Detroit's affordable real estate, diverse architectural styles and urban leadership won high praise from the Financial Times, with an article that digs deeper than statistics to interview several residents who couldn't be more optimistic about the city's progress. And though prices are still low around the city, one local real estate expert says the housing market is finally moving upward again.

Excerpt:

Kelly Sweeney, chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel, has been a local estate agent for 30 years and is convinced of an upward trend. "Because of the loss of manufacturing jobs, our market went into freefall well before the subprime crisis," he says. "But we reacted quickly to that, and we are in a better position now. And there has been some improvement in employment. Also, our inventory of bank-owned properties is going down."

Read the rest of the article here.

The sounds of Handel, Brahms, Copland ... call them old songs with a new set of voices.

A new group of singers are tackling the old guard of choral repertoire. They call themselves the Community Chorus of Detroit, and they're accepting any aspiring vocalists with basic music reading ability, from 13 to 130, to join the non-auditioned chorus as they work toward two spring concerts at the Detroit Waldorf School in Indian Village. With guest conductors and artists from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, the aim and precision are high. Rehearsals are mostly on Sundays, with performances at Saturday, May 21 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 22 at 4 pm.

Early registration to guarantee your sheet music is Feb.16 and the final registration deadline is Feb. 25.

For more information, visit the Community Chorus of Detroit website.

The Seattle Times makes its way across the US and runs down what a few of Detroit's neighborhoods are doing to fight vacancies.

Excerpt:

Eric Blount, 51, an accountant, spent the spring and summer mowing grass at his own yard in Detroit and also at the large corner lot next door.

And when a real-estate agent nailed plywood over the ground-floor windows of the vacant, foreclosed home next door, Blount went over and painted the wood white to match the white-painted brick exterior.

"It doesn't pay to just look and not do anything," Blount said.

The foreclosure epidemic, while devastating to home values and the quality of life, has created bonds in neighborhoods hit hardest.

"Having this large a number of vacant homes and knowing no one is going to fix it, brought us together as neighbors," said Gail Rodwin, who heads the vacant homes committee in Sherwood Forest neighborhood in Detroit, where Blount lives.

Read the entire article here.

Time Inc. has descended onto Detroit either like a thunderstorm or as liberators, depending on who you talk to. There has been a blitz of blog posts, features stories, and videos from its self anointed "D Shack" portraying the Detroit they've seen so far.

Videos include an interview with K-9 to Five's Liz Blondy, a piece on 85 cent hamburgers, asking Detroiters why they love and hate the city, and another piece about how Detroiters "survive."

Stories have covered entrepreneurs, housing costs, Detroit's decline, and Ernie Harwell.

So, what's your take? How would you grade their assignment so far? Is it the same ol' same ol'? Or is it something different?

Our own media outlets and bloggers have been discussing the coverage as well. Read a piece by Crain's Detroit business here.

Listen to an interview with Daniel Okrent -- writer of Time's Detroit cover story -- on WDET's "Detroit Today" here.

And, last but not least, Dyspathy's "Assignment Detroit: The Drinking Game" will keep you reminded of the Detroit cliche's as well as keep you totally sauced when reading through Time's project.

Let us know what you think about the Time blitz on our Facebook page here.

Check out the Time Inc. coverage here.