Buzz

Crain's special issue showcases living in the D

Crain's Detroit Business Monday, August 13, 2007

Crain's Detroit Business has published an extremely comprehensive guide to living and investing in the D, including a slide show, views into two days of five households' lives, information on tax credits and much, much more.

The theme is definitely clear: some people living here actually like it.

The special section's gateway page is here.

BBC World video examines Detroit's cars and culture

BBC World Tuesday, July 24, 2007

This BBC World video is kinda old (from 2005) and pretty long (24 minutes), but it's worth watching. You can tell that the host, Jeremy Clarkson, really likes Detroit. Besides cars, he talks Motown, rides around with Bob Seger and delves into history.

Best unintentionally funny moment: Clarkson's mis-pronunciation of Packard.

Watch it here.

Woodward still evolving in its 200th year

Detroit News Monday, July 16, 2007

In its 200th year, Woodward continues to change. New housing and retail developments are improving it day by day.

Excerpt:

"It's going to take a while to build up enough for the next couple of hardware stores, a big grocery downtown, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods to come in," said Jim Rogers, manager of the Southeast Michigan Council of Government's data center, which tracks building permits. "It's going to take some time for it to build up. But clearly there's a lot more going on than there has been."

Read the entire article here.

Lasalle Bank commits start-up funds to DEGC to help eliminate "food desert"

Crain's Detroit Business Monday, July 09, 2007

Lasalle Bank has committed $15,000 to help the Detroit Economic Development Corporation establish a fund that would target areas of Detroit in need of fresher food options.

Excerpt:

The DEGC could complete an agreement with a consultant for setting up the fund soon, said Olga Savic, the DEGC's director of strategy and external affairs.

The fund will be patterned after a one in Pennsylvania called the Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The 3-year-old fund, which started with $38 million, has financed 26 grocery stores to date with $23 million in financing, Savic said.

The financing fund ties into the DEGC's work with Social Compact, a national nonprofit it contracted with to identify market strengths and needs in Detroit.

"We were already planning to look at this issue of grocery stores and to be able to have a data-driven strategy around choosing sites for grocery stores," Savic said.

Read the entire article here.

Detroit Renaissance unveils regional revival strategies

Crain's Detroit Business Thursday, May 03, 2007

Details of Detroit Renaissance's "Road to Renaissance" plan have been unveiled. The three-year plan is expected to cost $75-80 million, $50 million of which will go towards business accelerators -- including TechTown and NextEnergy.

Two of the 11 strategies include:

Establishing a �Creative Corridor� on Woodward Avenue that attracts and retains creative talent, inspires output from the creative community and increases the creative industries locally.
Starting a �Creative Business Accelerator� in the corridor to foster start-ups and accelerate the growth of existing creative businesses.

Read the entire here.

Farmers markets - from Eastern Market to neighborhood markets - strengthen local food security

metromode Thursday, May 03, 2007

A look at farmers market around Southeast Michigan discusses Eastern Market as well as the food security afforded neighborhoods and smaller cities, like Highland Park, that host their own markets.

Excerpt:

Economic benefits are another farmers market positive that WSU urban planning professor Kami Pothukcuchi has studied. "Farmers markets are important as they are for the market environment they create and the buzz they create for places. They are tools for much larger objectives, regional objectives in terms of economic benefits." She cites a study that shows that money spent at markets stays in the community. "Ten dollars spent in the market can result in $20 worth of business in the surrounding area."

Read the entire article here.

TONIGHT: TRU's quarterly meeting to discuss DDOT efforts to bring rapid transit to Detroit

TRU Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Transportation Riders United will host its quarterly meeting April 17. The meeting will discuss DDOT's Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study as well as TRU's latest projects.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Guardian Building.

10-year plan to end homelessness announced

Crain's Detroit Business Monday, April 16, 2007

A multi-faceted plan intended to end homelessness in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck has been developed by the Homeless Action Network. It targets five key areas: prevention, housing, supportive services, community engagement and collaboration.

Excerpt:

The plan, created over the past two years, includes input from numerous stakeholder and community partners in the three cities, including the Homeless Action Network,, City Connect, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Cynthia Pasky, CEO and President of Strategic Business Solutions.

Read the entire article here.

AT&T donates $1.2M for youth technology access

Great Lakes IT Report Friday, April 13, 2007

The AT&T Foundation has made a $1.2 million grant to the Detroit Youth Foundation to provide Detroit youth with access to technology.

Excerpt:

"The AT&T grant will allow Detroit youth the opportunity to have practical, hands-on experience using technology," said Gerald K. Smith, DYF president and CEO. "Access to technology is vital in today�s world. This funding will provide our youth with the experience they need in order to succeed in the future."

Read the entire article here.

200,000-sf distribution center to be built in HP

Crain's Detroit Business Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A 200,000-square foot distribution center being built in Highland Park was awarded $5 million in New Market Tax Credits.

Excerpt:

�The purpose of the speculative building is to have tenant-ready space available for new companies to come to Highland Park, promoting business and local job creation,� Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said in announcing the tax credit approval.

New markets tax credits will be used for the building and shell construction. Total project cost is to be about $9.65 million.

Read the entire article here.

Toronto Star talks the good and the bad of Detroit

Toronto Star Sunday, March 25, 2007

Excerpt:

Downtown remains far from perfect. Several old buildings still sit
abandoned; one, surrounded by plywood battens at ground level,
displays the spray-painted exhortation "MAKE THINGS BETTER." But
[Detroit Renaissance's Doug] Rothwell is hopeful.

"All of a sudden, it feels like there's a critical mass, that you can
do things again," Rothwell says. "Detroit will never be the Detroit of
old, but it can be, and is, a very viable city and region."

Read the entire article here.

TRU launches transit design competition

metromode Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Transportation Riders United, a metro Detroit transit advocacy group, is sponsoring a design competition on the future of mass transit in the area.

Excerpt:

"Detroit in Transit: Visions of a Region on the Move" is looking for drawings and designs of what Detroit�s future transit and transit-oriented neighborhoods would look like with convenient, high-quality rapid transit.

"What we�re really hoping to do is launch a public conversation about what rapid transit can do to revitalize a city like Detroit," says Megan Owens, executive director of TRU.

Read the entire article here.

Urban farming expert in town Mar. 29-31

Detroit Free Press Friday, March 16, 2007

John Jeavons, a national expert in urban farming and biointensive agriculture, will be in Detroit March 29-31.

Excerpt:

From 6-8 p.m. March 29, Jeavons will talk about his experiences with agriculture and how growing crops can be done more efficiently, especially for those in urban spaces. The free talk will be at the Catherine Ferguson Academy, 2750 Selden, Detroit.

From 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 30-31, Jeavons will lead his workshop on how to grow biointensively. Cost for the two-day session is $10-$50 for members of the Garden Resource Program or similar urban gardening organizations, and $150 for others.

For information, call Ashley Atkinson at 313-237-8736 or go to www.detroitagriculture.org.

Read the entire article here.

Fifth Third investing in southeast Michigan, to open 2 banks in Detroit

Detroit Free Press Monday, March 12, 2007

Fifth Third Bank plans to open 40 banks in southeast Michigan over the next three years, with two in Detroit set to open in the coming months.

Excerpt:

�Obviously, an initiative like this has been in the works for some time,� said bank spokesman Jack Riley. �But it is nice to give the region some good news.�

Fifth Third also hopes to become the official bank for the City of Detroit, following the announcement of the investment in southeast Michigan.
Read the entire article here.

Wayne County Land Bank plans 3 developments in Detroit, 1 in Highland Park

Detroit Free Press Thursday, February 22, 2007

The Wayne County Land Bank has acquired six vacant parcels - three of which are in Detroit and one that is in Highland Park - and plans to redevelopment them with the assistance of property tax breaks.

Excerpt:

The land bank can clear title on property so a buyer isn't scared off by the prospect of a former owner reclaiming the land someday.

Three of the six prospective developments are in Detroit. Grosse Pointe Woods, Highland Park and Van Buren Township all have one.

In each case, the owner of the property agreed to put the land into the land bank. In exchange, five of the sites will be exempt from property taxes in the year building begins, and will owe half the usual property tax for the next five years.

The [sixth] potential development -- a plan to build 1,000 housing units on Detroit's east side -- would not result in a tax break, but the land bank would clear title on 600 parcels.

Read the entire article here.

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