Redevelopment : Buzz

Wayne State professor John Patrick Leary takes on the oft-controversial topic of ruin porn; specifically, the works of Andrew Moore's Detroit Disassembled, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre's The Ruins of Detroit and Dan Austin and Sean Doerr's Lost Detroit.

His diagnoses (namely the section on the three kinds of Detroiters) are both cynical and cutting, rooted in postmodern theory and a sense that our city exists only as a precursor for a larger discussion about the American Dream. The discussion is rich. Join in.

Excerpt:

Photographs like Moore, Marchand, and Meffre's succeed, at least, in compelling us to ask the questions necessary to put this story together--Detroit's story, but also the increasingly-familiar story of urban America in an era of prolonged economic crisis. That they themselves fail to do so testifies not only to the limitations of any still image, but our collective failure to imagine what Detroit's future--our collective urban future--holds for us all.

Leary's article, along with photos by Marchand and Meffre, can be seen here (scroll down to find his suggested reading list).

Local real estate and financial insiders were bullish on Detroit's next boom at the Model D IdeaLab conference Thursday at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The event brought together creatives and finance types for a fast, TED-style forecast of Detroit's economic future.

The Freep quoted local movers and shakers on their successes in the real estate market in 2010: two in particular were City Living's Austin Black and Richard Hosey, senior VP at Bank of America's Detroit office, who pulled together the recent $55M deal to renovate downtown's Broderick Tower.

Excerpt:

One of the city's main assets for both commercial redevelopment and for residential development, Black said, is the unique architecture. Hundred-year-old homes in Palmer Woods, for example, appeal to buyers because the architecture cannot be replicated.

"Detroit is getting into that stage right now where …settlers are moving in. Not just pioneers," said Randy Lewarchik, a real estate developer.

Read the rest of the story here.

A star-studded group of writers, entrepreneurs and thought leaders gathered at Lincoln's TED-sponsored conference at the North American International Auto Show. Called "New Tomorrows," the list of presenters included Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, conceptualist Lisa Gansky, Maker Faire founder Dale Dougherty, and locals John Gallagher and Jessica Care Moore.

What's the future? A city of hacker dens uniting creative energy with technology, local farms supplying fresh produce, local bike paths along streetways and light rail.

Excerpt:

Ms. Gansky touched on the success of the Zipcar company and encouraged automakers to propagate car-share models -- a concept she explores in her 2010 book "The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing." "I really wanted to bring up the discussion of transit and how data could be used to do so much more," she said. "The car is a platform for people."

Read the post here.

VF.com correspondent and Detroit native Brett Burk (who colorfully describes himself as "a cheerful bitch...writing gaily about culture, politics and cars"), wanted to report on something different while attending the North American International Auto Show this week. So he journeyed around the city studying what we Detroiters stockpile and salvage from the past, from piles of Christmas trees and tires to antique toilets at the Architectural Salvage Warehouse.

Excerpt:

What to do with all the broken mirrors, bedsprings, saw blades, girders, roofing tin, and rusty paint cans you have lying around the house? Lie them around the house--on the outside, that is--like at the crazy compound/sculpture "garden" created by these clever folks at the African Bead Museum on Grand River.

View the slideshow here.

Over 4,000 students graduated from the old Cass Tech high school before its closing in 2005, including a roster of Detroit's most famous former students, like Diana Ross, John Delorean and Ellen Burstyn. NPR interviewed several of Cass Tech alums, including Jack White and Lily Tomlin, about their memories of the almost century-old industrial Gothic building, which is now slated for destruction.

Excerpt:

Ray Litt, who graduated from Cass in 1948, walks over broken glass inside the building. He has been its unofficial caretaker since it was abandoned.

"This whole business of clearing up this eyesore and being concerned about the safety of our students because of the shape of the building is being used as an excuse," he says.

Demolition crews are using generators to help rip out the metals and equipment still left inside. Litt has been trying to rally the 60,000 alumni for money and ideas.

Listen to the story here.

Workers at the Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Hospital and Wayne State University will be the beneficiaries of a $1.2 million program to incentivize employees to move to Midtown, Woodbridge, New Center and Virginia Park neighborhoods.

The program will provide eligible employees with rental allowances up to $2,500 or forgivable loans to the tune of $25,000 over five years.

Excerpt:

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the Hudson-Webber Foundation are matching the anchor employers' first-year investment, bringing the total to $1.2 million for this year.

In a release, the organizations said the Troy-based Kresge Foundation also plans to provide some investment for the pilot project, with the anchor employers continuing funding in subsequent years.

Read more here.

U.S. Representative Hansen Clarke's reach-across-the-aisle style has already raised eyebrows in Washington. This profile on the first-term elected official spends much time drawing contrasts between Clarke and another (in)famous Detroit politician, but it also raises interesting questions about who Clarke is, and the national implications of his victory.

Excerpt:

Our first stop was a mission where Clarke addressed a crowd of some 200 homeless Detroiters. Clarke said that he sees himself in the faces of the street people. His mother, who worked as a school crossing guard, sent him away to school with winnings from the street numbers. When she died, while he was at Cornell University, he left college and drifted, unemployed and living on food stamps. Eventually he pulled himself together, returned to Cornell and then went on to law school at Georgetown, but he says, "All my life I've been afraid that I'm going to wind up on the streets."

Read the profile here.

Milicent Johnson is a New York native who got plenty of stern warnings -- and pepper spray -- when she decided to journey to the D to uncover our city's spirit of community. What she found, after ditching the Mace, was a warm and vibrant population who welcomed her with open arms. From Rachel's Place, to crepes, to even milking a goat, Johnson got the true D-town experience. Which led to some pretty interesting ruminations on Detroit's role in shaping ideas for rebuilding 21st century cities. And it seems this Shareable Cities post made at least one convert.

Excerpt:

So, here's my final confession: I want to move to Detroit. Having lived in New York City, D.C, Boston, and now, San Francisco, I'm used to comfortable city life that caters to the young. But never have I experienced a place thriving with talent, energy, passion, and determination to make their city, and by association, the world, a better place. If you are looking for a place to develop your dream, whatever it may be, consider trying to do so in Detroit, in the place I am now dubbing the birthplace of our collective new American destiny. See you there.

We're baking that "Welcome to Detroit" casserole, Milicent, so hurry on back. Read the whole post here.

Media everywhere has seemingly caught wind of the cyclone of attention, investor dollars and cool new projects popping up in neighborhoods like New Center and Woodbridge, including this dandy report in the Detroit Free Press over the weekend. Winning news: not only did foundations spend up to $250 million on development within city limits in 2010, but there's lots more to come in 2011. Much is discussed of Midtown's future, which currently holds a 92% rental occupancy rate.

Excerpt:

With the demand for housing on the rise, developers are in various stages of at least seven ambitious condo and apartment projects, most in ornate, historic buildings that had stood vacant for years. Since 2009, more than $425 million has been invested in building new housing, according to the UCCA.

Thousands of students who used to commute to WSU and CCS are moving within walking distance of classes because of the theaters, bars, restaurants and art galleries, officials from both schools said.

"Detroit is getting a reputation as a very lively, hot place to live," said Richard Rogers, CCS president. "People are gravitating here because they are finding a high quality of life."

We're lovin' it! Read the whole article here.

It's like an arms race, but with jobs. Gov. Granholm took to the Huffington Post this week to give her idea for a Jobs Race for the Top that would allow poorly-funded states the chance to receive a portion of the nation's economic development dollars (there's about $170 billion). Granhom's argument cuts across political platforms, as well as state lines, with rewards in place for creating clean energy jobs, establishing public-private partnerships and rewriting policy. And Granholm used Michigan as the example of a state that's done it right:

Excerpt:

In just over a year, we have attracted 18 domestic and international companies, projected to create 63,000 private-sector jobs in Michigan. With breathtaking speed, we built an entire advanced battery "ecosystem" for the purpose of electrifying the automobile. If the states are the laboratories of democracy, Washington can take a lesson from what is happening in Michigan. 

We are really appreciating the HuffPo love for Detroit these days. Read more here.

Three College for Creative Studies students are trying to take the consumerism out of the Christmas gift-giving tradition -- and an abandoned house near the Zen Center in Hamtramck may see some new life.

The students recently explored the abandoned house before it was razed to document its history. Inside, they found hundreds of childrens' toys, which they decided to clean and sell online. Not only is Blank Blank Toys Toys an inexpensive pop-up toy shop advocating that we re-use what we've made, the students also decided to dedicate the proceeds to further another possible project on the land.

Excerpt:

We partnered with a woman who wanted to take the lot after the house is demolished and turn it into a community park or pool. The money we generate will be donated to our partner to help create this positive change for the community. We believe there are ways of creating positive change in and around our communities that will renew usable resources as well as create new possibilities.

There's a G.I. Joe figurine for $1.99, and plenty of other cool toys for you to check out here.

Downtown Detroit's long-dormant Broderick Tower may soon begin a second life as renovated residential apartments. The word on the street? Ann Arbor's J.C. Beal Company is representing the owners for the sale, with Bank of America handling the financing. We're excited to see the downtown revitalization spearheaded by Quicken Loans continue to steamroll, not to mention major banks getting behind Detroit again.

Excerpt:

Robert Kraemer, president of Kraemer Design Group, a Detroit architectural firm working on the project, said the financial closing is expected to be finished by early next week, with Bank of America and other financial entities providing financing.

"It's as real as it gets," Kraemer said. "It's exciting. It's a real deal."

Stay tuned to Model D as news from Broderick continues to unfold. Read the rest of the story here.

A recent fact-finding mission to Detroit's twin city, Turin, Italy (known to natives as Torino) showed Dave Bing there's a lot about redevelopment we can learn from that European auto town. Like Detroit, the Italian Motor City has lived through its share of crises. Almost destroyed in WWII, the city was rebuilt during the post-war boom. And like Detroit, Turin suffered during the automotive recession of the 1970s and 1980s, losing nearly 30 percent of its population in three decades.

Mayor Bing filed daily reports from Turin, which is currently experiencing a turnaround both in population and international stature. He says he's most impressed by the density of the central city.

Excerpt:

The concept of urban farming shouldn't be new to any regular readers of Model D. But here's something buzz-worthy: the city's publicly-owned land could transform the Motor City into a post-industrial land of plenty.

The New York Times Green blog sourced a Michigan State University study that claims the city's vacant land has the potential to produce 75 percent of the city's vegetable supply and 40 percent of non-tropical fresh fruits for local residents.

Excerpt:

The study identified 44,000 parcels totaling nearly 5,000 acres, with no existing structures, that were owned by the city, surrounding Wayne County or the state of Michigan. Land in and around parks, golf courses, cemeteries, schools, churches, hospitals, jails, utilities, right-of-ways and privately owned property was not included.

"Our totals are conservative," said Mike Hamm, a professor of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University. "But it may be closer to representing the quantity of land more readily available for urban farms and gardens because these parcels are publicly owned and clear of any buildings." The post also suggests proposals for large-scale agriculture in the city remain on the drawing board. Your move, Detroit.

Read the post here.