Corktown

Go Green, Detroit, at Corktown’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Sunday afternoon, people will wear green, drink green and see green as Michigan Avenue gets Irish for the 51st annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Corktown. Get in the spirit with the pics from Model D photographer Marvin Shaouni.

Preservation Possible: Expanded Historic Tax Credits Help Save Forest Arms

New law allows developers to stack both state and federal tax credits so they add up to 40 percent of the project's total cost, creating a huge potential impact on stimulating redevelopment of city's historic building stock.

Everyone’s watching what will happen in Washington with Tiger Stadium

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin's earmark may save Tiger Stadium remnant.Excerpt:U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., included the money as an earmark, an allocation of funds often used by members of Congress to support projects in their states.Coming just before a March 1 deadline set by the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. to show progress on the stadium plans, the earmark breathes new life into a proposal once all but given up for dead.Thomas Linn, an attorney and member of the nonprofit Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, called the earmark “terrific news.”“Carl Levin is a tremendous ally,” he said. “We’re trying to work in a businesslike and positive way with the city to create something unique. It’ll be a valuable asset on the near west side.”Read the entire article here.

Freep visits Le Petit Zinc, Detroit’s newest French creperie in Corktown

Detroit now has a second creperie, and a full-fledged French cafe, in Le Petit Zinc.Excerpt:Le Petit Zinc, which loosely means "local bar," seats just 25 in a dining room splashed with color -- yellow walls, turquoise shelves, green trim and a vibrant flower-market mural painted by Karima.The menu is light and casual: sweet and savory handmade crepes, fresh salads, baguette sandwiches, snack plates, light breakfast items and beverages including espresso drinks.The food is delightful. At lunch one day last week, I loved the big, robust cappuccinos, served in chartreuse café au lait bowls. My crepe -- filled with goat cheese, fresh baby spinach and pine nuts -- came with a lightly dressed green salad. A side order of herb-flecked ratatouille reminded me of summer. Prices are competitive: Cappuccinos and lattes are $3; most other drinks are $2. Crepes range from $3.50 to $6.75. Salads and sandwiches are $4.75 to $7.95.Read the entire article here.

Info sessions to inform developers, CDCs about neighborhood stabilization funds

Travel blog visits Detroit, leaves impressed by architecture, music and the people

Acclaimed travel blog, gadling.com, visits Detroit and does a good job at discovering the city.Excerpt:But the Motor City, the land of the Model T, Motown and Madonna (and other famous musicians too numerous to mention) isn't just an empty shell. Nearly a million people still live here, for starters. As startling as its collapse is the fact that the city continues to move on as if things were almost normal. For sure, this is a place of grand ruins, hopeless politicians, monstrous mansions and grinding poverty, but somehow it all just works. Sometimes just barely. Sometimes surprisingly well. There simply isn't any place like it. Not in the Rust Belt, not in the Midwest, not anywhere.Even as times get tougher, there are so many reasons to drop in on Detroit. You can come for the music, for the art, the bars, the history, the cars. Come for the gambling, or the grand architecture. Don't be surprised, though, if you leave most impressed by the people.Some of the most genuine folks you'll find anywhere in the country live in Detroit. Sure, the streets may appear mean, but mostly, the people are anything but. So, talk to strangers. Ask them questions about the city. Find out where they like to go drinking. Don't worry about coming off like a crazy person – around here, that can often work to your advantage.Read the entire article here.

Old Tiger Stadium gets city approval for preservation

The city has approved the preservation of what is left of the old Tiger Stadium, which is good news for the old ballpark, its preservation committee, and the city of Detroit.Excerpt:The city of Detroit has granted preliminary approval to a nonprofit group's plans to preserve the remaining portion of historic Tiger Stadium.The city's Economic Development Corp. approved a plan and budget by the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy in a letter to the group dated Friday.The conservancy wants to develop the old ballpark as a commercial and community space at an estimated cost of $27 million. Read the entire article here.

Hey Mitch: Detroit Primed to Play More Than Defense

In a Sports Illustrated story now making its rounds on the web, bestselling author, TV personality and Freep writer Mitch Albom writes a defense of Detroit. But he didn't get the whole story, says West Village resident Jim Boyle. When it comes to Detroit, we're lovers -- not fighters.

Sections of Detroit’s Michigan Ave. getting carpool lanes

A small section of Michigan Avenue, in Detroit and Dearborn, will be getting carpooling lanes to test out their feasibility with car-loving Detroiters.Excerpt:Other big cities around the country have had them for years, but we're about to embark on a limited, Detroit-style test of carpool -- or high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) -- lanes on a stretch of Michigan Avenue between downtown and Dearborn.The goal of HOV lanes is to give people in vehicles with more than one occupant a lane for faster travel, an incentive to not drive alone -- taking the bus or carpooling instead.Read the entire article here.