Downtown Detroit

Detroit indie rock band plays Gitmo… yeah, that Gitmo

A Detroit-based indie rock band was asked to play an interesting show... the library at Guantanamo Bay. Vanity Fair picked up the story.Excerpt:The High Strung, an indie rock band from Detroit, received an invitation to play a show at the Guantanamo Bay library this summer. This wasn’t that weird. They’ve been playing shows in libraries for years, as part of a national program aimed at luring teenagers into these book-filled repositories. (This American Life did a piece about their first library tour.) What was weird was that they said yes. Made up of a trio of lefty pacifists with a profound distrust of the American Military, not to mention a penchant for florid and literary lyrics, they were a rather unlikely choice for entertaining our nation’s soldiers. “If we’re playing for a whole base full of troops who are used to listening to Kid Rock and Pantera, it’s going to be incredibly uncomfortable,” drummer Derek Berk (who happens to be my extremely talented younger brother) said prior to their departure. “But it seems like our whole career recently has been based on setting ourselves up for strange and uncomfortable situations. And this seemed like it was going to be at or near the top of the list.”Read the entire article here.

Detroit Renaissance goes statewide

Detroit Renaissance is planning on moving from a Southeast Michigan organization to a statewide organization.Excerpt:Detroit Renaissance, which began as council of the CEOs of the 50 largest companies in Southeast Michigan, said it plans to become a statewide organization. The organization's board of directors approved the expansion at its Wednesday board meeting. “Detroit Renaissance has been evolving into a more Michigan-centric organization in recent years as many of the most important issues facing Southeast Michigan are statewide issues,” a prepared statement said. Detroit Renaissance said it will maintain a strong focus on urban areas, including Detroit, and a board committee will continue to be dedicated to that work co-chaired by Anthony Earley, CEO of DTE Energy Co.; and Cynthia Pasky, founder and CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions.Read the entire article here.

United Way moves into new Downtown digs that feature open floor plan

Downtown Development Authority Awarded MEDC Grant for Solar-Powered Lighting and Facade Improvement

The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has accepted a $100,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Downtown Urban Revitalization Program to install solar-powered lights to brighten the facades of several downtown buildings.

Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Approves Plans for $19 Million in New Investment

Meijer, the Grand Rapids-based discount department store has confirmed it has signed a development agreement to build a 192,000 sq. ft. store in the new Shoppes at Gateway Park at Woodward and 8 Mile Road.

Quicken Loans Will Move into Rented Space Downtown

They just couldn't wait, so members of the executive team of Quicken Loans are moving into rental space in Downtown Detroit next spring. Compuware Corporation is making room for 1700 of them in its new headquarters building at Campus Martius, in the heart of Downtown.

Detroit: A terrific city for cycling

m-bike.org posts a piece from Grosse Pointe Today about a Grosse Pointe lawyer who bikes to his Detroit office.Excerpt from the profile:Roach, 48, is a lawyer at Miller Canfield in downtown Detroit. Several times a week, weather permitting, he leaves his car at home and commutes from his Grosse Pointe Park house to his office by bicycle. The 8.5-mile route carries him into decaying neighborhoods, over rutted pavement and sometimes through sweltering heat, but all of this doesn’t stop him, or even slow him down, and it certainly doesn’t bum him out. Exercise is its own reward.“It occurred to me that it takes me at least 20 minutes to drive (to my office), and I started thinking I bet I could ride (there) in 20. I’m able to clear my head and enjoy it. For an extra 20 minutes of commuting a day, I get an hour’s worth of exercise.”Read the entire post here.

Philadelphia blog visits Detroit and says the city is poised to turn that corner

Philly blog devotes a lengthy piece to Detroit, compares the two cities, and says the city is poised for a renaissance. Excerpt:In other neighborhoods, urban agriculture is very hot, and stories of artists buying homes for $1,000 in attempts to colonize run-down pockets have become de rigeur among city boosters. Newcomers continue to stream into the area, too - most notably Arab Americans - and their impact in their chosen neighborhoods is evident in the small cultural centers, galleries, restaurants and shops they doggedly open.Through it all, the city's most potent symbol sits patiently downtown. It's a popular sculpture of the mighty right arm of boxer Joe Louis -- who grew up in Detroit and even worked for Ford's River Rouge Plant -- fully extended and ready to unleash a wallop. The "Renaissance City" is always willing to fight the good fight, the work seems to declare. Give it another decade or two, and we may all be wishing we'd bought some of those $1,000 houses.Read the entire article here.

Tweet of the Week: Where exactly is South Detroit?

With news of GM's new electric car delivering gas mileage in the triple-digits, and lots of Detroiters heading to the suburbs for the infamous Dream Cruise, it was a pretty auto-centric week here in Detroit. @TheVT told us an interesting tidbit on Monday: Today is Self-Starting Day. In 1915, Charles Kettering of Detroit, Michigan, invented the electric self-starter for automobiles.Though lots of local twitterers were eager to talk about classic cars, @IbrahimTransAlt wanted to remind us: In the 1890s, 80% of residents rode bicycles on a regular basis in Detroit, the future "Motor City" of the world. It's pretty difficult to imagine that many bicycles cycling around town anymore.In addition to cars, bikes and other things that go, tweeters were ranting about another slightly travel-related topic, sorta. Journey. As in the band. It seemed like tweeters the world over were wondering whether a place known as "South Detroit" actually exists. Some were pretty matter-of-fact; others were open to different interpretations. In honor of all of their valiant efforts to discover the truth, this week's Tweet of the Week is a six-way tie: @CamilaCastillo2: #fact Journey was wrong, there is no south detroit. @gail_gosh: isn't there a "south" of anywhere? maybe it just means the southern portion of Detroit, not South Detroit. @AlanahJordan: There is no south detroit. SOUTH OF DETROIT IS THE DETROIT RIVER.@DJMikeCruz: right on man...South Detroit is Windsor, Ontario...@tecksbuk: maybe there's a deeper meaning to the lyric "Born and raised in South Detroit" She's in a lonely world, he's in an imaginary one? @brendonuriesays: in my mind, there will always be a south detroit. and the strangers are dancing, not waiting.Who do you think is right? Let us know on Twitter. And be sure to follow our updates. Until next week, keep readin' and tweetin'.