for cowley.11, the big buzz lately has been about the
Campus Martus redevelopment project. That whole thing has been clogging up traffic down there for maybe 2 years now. Its presence, and the promise of a new major employer (Compuserve) has seemed to spur a moderate wave of preservation/conversion projects, mostly converting smaller cool-looking old victorian storefronts for new uses as offices, or old warehouses into lofts.
Although I am not fond of the whole gambling thing, and believe that in the long run that type of development will ultimately cause more problems to society than it will solve, you may also want to check out the 3
casinos . After the owner was granted permits to set up "temporary" sites, the gaming operations were supposed to eventually be moved later to "permanent" sites, but I guess their present "temporary" sites are becoming permanent, after finding that moving them would be too expensive(duh!).
And since GM relocated to the Renaissance Center, they have re-designed the access to the building to make it less fortress-like. The RenCen was originally designed and built with a blank-face two story concrete wall along its Jefferson facade. That wall (which seemed to say "local pedestrians keep out---commuters with permits thru underground garage only") is coming down. And the priceless waterfront behind the RenCen now has an atrium garden, instead of a concrete alley service road.
Tiger Stadium is long gone, now a vacant shell. But its replacement,
Comerica Park in the heart of downtown, next to the new
Ford Field , would be worth a tour. They seem to have brought in new interest in the area. At least now there are people walking around now down there (no joke).
Right north of the sports complexes on the other side of the freeway is the new
Woodward Place at Brush Park put up by major suburban developer
Crosswinds Communities .
Brush Park was THE address to have at the turn of the century. Block after block of fantastic victorian mansions, sliced through in the 50's by the freeway, abandoned in the 60's, left to rot until the 1980's, when a failed private-investment incentive program to save the neighborhood actually did more harm than good. Crosswinds bought up alot of the land and is putting up
Woodward Place. Was sceptical at first, but now mildly surprised--that development looks like it might actually fit into the urban context.
I agree that those density shots are decieving. as to where are the people? still North of 8 mile.
