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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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A tale of two Detroits
There's a great piece of commentary in today's Detroit News from Karen Dumas discussing a topic I find extremely intriguing.
Dumas, former press secretary for Mayor Dave Bing, defines a "new" Detroit, a city seeing an influx of "young, white, educated and employed" individuals moving in, starting businesses and reshaping the city. She goes on to examine how this "new" Detroit compares to what is already here, and has been here, for quite some time. She describes a stark dichotomy between the native, jaded Detroiter and the optimistic "new" Detroiter, and how the two can be at odds with eachother.
On one hand, you have a population of people who see Detroit as a land of incredible opportunity, who are coming in to make change on their own rather than waiting for the government to step up and do something. But on the other hand, you have a population that has been in Detroit for years--generations even--who have become jaded and cynical after years of being let down by their government and their education system. 
New residents seem oblivious to the challenges of crime and schools, and instead have embraced the opportunity to redefine a seemingly faceless city.
It seems they've said, "OK. Those who were here have not seized the opportunity, so step aside and allow us to do so." They are not waiting for City Council to pass any resolution, or for there to be a collective performance of "Kumbaya" with the Mayor's Office. They, along with a core group of businesses, are doing what they want, where they can, to create the city they want Detroit to become.
The challenge is balancing the needs of those who have stayed with the wants of those who are arriving.
Now, whether or not all of this is turning Detroit into a suburb remains unanswered. I honestly never really considered a Whole Foods chain coming to Detroit being an example of the suburbanization of the city. Plenty of big cities have chains like this.
But, it's a fascinating conversation that is important to have, and worth having for that matter. It'll be crucial to watch how these two Detroits grow alongside each other and whether the needs and wants of both populations can be met successfully. 
Detroit has had a rocky past and the wounds of racial and social divides in the Metro Detroit area still run deep for many. I truly hope the story of the new Detroit will not become a story of the "rich white people trying to come in and take over the city." It's not about that. There's incredible opportunity and potential, and success will only happen if we're all willing to work together. I do hope Detroit continues to be a story of how people of all different backgrounds, perspectives and ideas can come together to rebuild a city, because that's the Detroit I want to continue to work in, and a Detroit I want to one day live in.
Read the entire commentary here. 
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Downtown Detroit Days returns
It's an event that harkens back to a time when shopping and retail was huge in the city of Detroit. But Downtown Detroit Days, a three-day event this weekend that features 40 different stores from the Troy Somerset Collection, could be a sign that shopping and retail like this could become a permanent fixture downtown.
The stores are located in a trendy restored mini-mall called the CityLoft which debuted last summer. This summer, more vendors have been added in tent space across the street from the building on Woodward Ave.
From Vera Bradley to Coach, to items from Brooks Brothers and Eddie Bauer, there seems to be a little something for everyone. Not to mention, retailers like Fist of Detroit apparel have plenty more to offer under the tents.
Somerset spent about $300,000 to turn its new space -- which once housed a Woolworth store -- into a 6,000-square-foot retail venue featuring a hair washing and drying station called a dry bar and a DJ spinning tunes from the mezzanine.
Downtown Detroit Days shopping runs 11 a.m.-7 p.m. through Saturday, and will take place one weekend a month through August.
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Photo by JESSICA J. TREVINO/Detroit Free Press
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit's Green Garage is turning heads
So, what happens when you take a former Model T warehouse showroom built in the 1920's and turn it into a small business shared-office space? 
You get the 'Green Garage,' an incredibly cool office space that's creating a lot of buzz in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. So much buzz, in fact, that the New York Times even recently paid a visit to see what all the fuss was about.
The Times is calling the Green Garage a "metaphor for urban reinvention" and a new epicenter for business incubation in the city. See what else they had to say about it in the full article here and check out some pictures of the space here on Curbed Detroit. 
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Photo by Michelle and Chris Gerard Photographers
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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NY Post reporter bikes through Detroit... and loves it
As you know, I always love it when good 'ol D-town gets some loving in national publications. The most recent example comes courtesy of the New York Post after one reporter made a visit and decided to bike through the city to see what it had to offer. 
The result: it seems we can add another reporter to the growing list who walk away after a visit both pleasantly surprised and and just as equally charmed. The whole piece offers a really nice perspective of the city and the gems within it. 
The reporter admits he never had any inclination to visit the city and, for the most part, was only familiar with a jaded and stereotypical picture of Detroit being a city of ruins in post-apocalyptic nightmare. Lucky for us, he realized how inaccurate that picture is.
It's not an in-depth analysis by any stretch of the imagination, and for the most part reporter Max Gross only hits on the biggest and more obvious attractions in Detroit like the DIA and Eastern Market. But then again, to someone who's never been here before, those are some pretty noteworthy and extraordinary parts of the city. 
Here's an excerpt:
The streets may have appeared a little lonely at first, but when I did encounter people, they seemed extraordinarily cheerful and friendly. As I biked past total strangers walking their dogs, or chatting with their neighbors, they unfailingly looked up and waved, like we were in a small town. Maybe that’s the best way to sum up what I saw in Detroit. One part urban blight. One part something like buried treasure. And really, really friendly.
You can head on over to the New York Post here and read the full story.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Call It a Comeback on Woodward Ave.
The mainline through Detroit and one of the most historic avenues in the country is finally starting to see the comeback it's been waiting for. The Detroit News reporting that the downtown stretch of Woodward Avenue between Jefferson and Grand Circus Park has seen many businesses and retailers relocating back to the area in recent years.
Dan Gilbert is responsible for a lot of the activity, with the Quicken Loans founder owning five buildings on the street. Gilbert has promised his ownership of those buildings will lead to a "two-year period when a lot of new residential ... and new retail" will open in the city's core.
The past 18 months has seen six businesses open or relocate into the downtown Woodward corridor, but it still has a ways to go to fill the many remaining vacant buildings and properties scattered throughout the area. 
Decades ago, downtown Woodward was packed with retail and street life. Many once-prominent Detroit retailers first set up shop or had a major presence there, including Vernors pop, Sanders Confectionary and Hughes & Hatcher men's clothing store. At one point, the block-long Hudson's department store was the second-largest department store in the world behind Macy's in New York City.
Historical preservationist Rebecca Bino said the avenue's peak years were between 1915 and 1955 with a reported 1.2 million people crossing the corner of State and Woodward daily in 1925. In 1983 the iconic Hudson's department store, that at one point in time occupied an entire block on the street, closed it's doors 
Read up on the full story here in today's Detroit News.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Big chains investing in the D
There's been some good news so far this month regarding groundbreakings of major developments in Detroit by big chain stores. Earlier this week marked the official groundbreaking of the Whole Foods store in Midtown. And come this Thursday a new project called the Gateway Marketplace will break ground near 8 Mile and Woodward.
The new development is expected to host a Meijer superstore and a Marshalls. But why is this such a big deal? After all, contrary to popular belief Detroit already has plenty of grocery stores. But, the bigger meaning behind project like this is that it shows major corporations and big chain stores are starting to have more confidence in the future of the city and therefore are choosing to invest in developments. 
Check out more details and a video of the Whole Foods groundbreaking here on HuffPostDetroit. 
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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What's next for Detroit's transportation infrastructure?
Thanks to Translogic, we're able to take a closer look at some of the possibilities of future transportation infrastructure in the city.
Most of us already know the story of how Detroit became the Motor City after it fell in love with roads and highways thanks to the car boom of the 1950s. Thanks to that subsequent shift in mindset, and promotion of the very industry that put Detroit on the map, options and ideas regarding mass transportation were neglected. 
But with Chrysler's recent announcement of financial support for light-rail in the city, it's apparent this conversation about where to go from here in regards to mass transit, will be something we'll be talking about for quite some time to come.
Check out the video below for more.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit Self-Portraits
The Detroit Free Press has started a pretty cool new project on their website. Dubbed Detroit Self-Portraits, and deriving inspiration from the DIA "Detroit Revealed" Exhibit, the site allows Metro Detroiters to upload and share their views of the city.
Visitors can then go on and vote for their favorite images and leave comments. Head on over to the project here and check out the collection so far. 
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Photo by Steve Hauptman
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Corktown Gets a Burger Bar
After the Mercury Bar failed to catch on with the coffee crowd, the recently renovated venue has now reopened withe a new menu and a new vision. 
Burgers!
Right across the street from Slow's BarBQ on Michigan Avenue, the Mercury Bar officially opened this past Saturday. The restaurant features a beer drinking room on the lower level aptly named Corktown Cellars. The interior of the place features a huge mural by local artist Jerome Ferretti, along with a pretty cool full-wall Fathead of a classic Mercury car grill. And of course, what I'm sure will be one of the biggest draws come summertime, the restaurant has a huge adjacent patio overlooking the old Michigan Central Station. 
Check out Curbed Detroit for the gallery of the restaurant. 
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Picture from Curbed Detroit
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit's Tubes
If you've been downtown, you've probably seen them. Maybe, you've even used them.
They're Detroit's numerous tubes, walkways and skywalks that connect some of the city's buildings and sporting venues together. From the tubes in Greektown to the skywalk connecting the Joe and COBO to the adjacent parking garage, there's actually quite a few more than I ever took the time to realize.
Lucky for us, Faded Detroit put together a nice little gallery of some of Detroit's tubed walkways, along with some interesting back stories on why the walkways were even built to begin with. Head on over and check it out. 
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Picture from Faded Detroit
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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A how-to guide for making a Detroit documentary
The people over at Changing Gears decided to poke a little fun at some of the cliches that have become synonymous with documentaries about Detroit. We've all seen, or have at least heard of, the slew of recent Detroit docs that have been released in the past couple of years, some much worse than others.
Lucky for you though, if you happen to be an aspiring doc filmmaker because most of the legwork has already been done for you. Check out Changing Gears' DIY Guide to making your own film about Motown and who knows, maybe you too could be holding your premiere at Sundance one day?
After you visually establish that Detroit is a rotting mess of industrial decay, you’ll need to remind your audience of the glory days. Be sure to refer to Detroit as the Motor City as much as possible.
You should also use phrases like “put the world on wheels,” “gave rise to the middle class” and “Paris of the Midwest.” You can even get archival footage of Detroit on YouTube.
Read the entire guide here.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit's Interactive Newsman
Well, it only took me about a month to get around to posting this. Blame college, finals and life. Last month I met with Channel 7's Stephen Clark to job shadow him for the night. Afterwards I had to write about my experience for one of my journalism classes. Here's how my visit went.
I arrived at the studio, proudly known as ‘Broadcast House,’ around 5:50 p.m. just as Stephen Clark was preparing to go on the air for the 6 o’clock newscast. I was excited, but I was trying to stay collected. The last thing I wanted to be was star-struck. But, I had grown up watching Channel 7 and some of these reporters, and to actually meet them in person was exciting and a little daunting. Stephen Clark greeted me in the lobby shortly after he wrapped the 6 o’clock. He had been tweeting at me throughout the show, which is something he’s actually become quite well known for doing. Clark started the #backchannel about two years ago as part of his vision of trying to reconnect with his audience. Twitter was still relatively new at the time, but Clark recognized the potential the new social media tool held. Clark has never been the type of journalist to shun new technologies or reject new, maybe even better, ways to deliver the news. During our hour or so long talk at his desk in the newsroom he said something that really resonated with me. He said that we weren’t just journalists anymore, we weren’t just there to report the news—we’re content creators, and the form in which we produce this content and the mediums through which we deliver it is constantly evolving. I decided a while ago to brand myself as a multimedia journalist. It seemed like the logical thing to do. After all, I wasn’t just a writer. I could make videos, I could take pictures, I could manage my own blog. But I also wanted to do broadcasting and so I thought that dubbing myself a multimedia journalist made the most sense, but now, I want to start thinking of myself as a content creator. Clark didn’t get to where he is today because he had a good news voice or because he could read a teleprompter well, albeit those qualities I'm sure helped a little. He got to where he is today because he was never afraid to push the envelope, do more than what was expected of him, or learn new technologies or take different approaches to reporting. He’s a one-man-band. He writes his own copy, shoots his own video, edits his own packages and serves as the face of one of most storied and prominent news brands in Metro Detroit. That’s no small task. For years Clark sat in front of the camera delivering the news to an audience that was on the other side of the glass. There was a barrier between him and those watching him and he grew tired of it, admittedly saying he grew bored with his job. He wanted the news to be interactive. He wanted to talk with his audience and have them talk back. The #backchannel—essentially a streaming conversation with his viewers through tweets—was born out of boredom, out of feeling complacent. As a young journalist I’ve learned that complacency in this business is a “four letter word.” Innovation, creativity and serious hard work are what separate good journalists from great ones. Before I left, Clark said something to me along the lines of: as long as you want it bad enough, you’ll make it in this business. I think I might make it. 
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Light rail in Detroit is dead
For better or for worse, the plan to bring light rail to the city is history...at least for now, anyways.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting the plans were scrapped in favor of a new system of high-speed city and suburban busses.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Detroit Mayor Dave Bing that doubts Detroit could pay operating costs over the long term for the Woodward Light Rail line because of it and the state’s financial problems swayed him against the plan. 
It was a plan that had been four years in the making, and while it's tough to see it fall through, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely surprised and not all that disappointed. 
The idea to bring light rail and more public transportation to the city is an idea I have loved and supported since all this talk first began. BUT, the reality is that a line that runs solely up and down Woodward and doesn't cross north of 8 Mile, just isn't the best use of scarce funds and resources right now.
There's been much debate about just exactly who this rail line would be benefitting, and many times it was compared to Detroit's other infamous rail system the People Mover. I've personally talked with many people about the plan over the course of the past couple years, and more often than not, they were less than enthused by the idea. Truth be told, the more I thought about it, the more I started to feel the same.
Detroit doesn't have the money, or the people, or the right amount of business yet. It comes down to the chicken or the egg debate: do you build the rail to bring the people and the businesses? Or do you wait for the people and the businesses and then build the rail?
I think the latter option is going to be the best option going forward. It will be interesting to see how this decision is received around the city and region.
Read the full story here.
Freep
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit News: Bing ready to wage 'war'
Even with all of the bright spots in Detroit--all the redevelopment projects, all the stories of new businesses and residents relocating back downtown--there's a one large, continually growing cloud hanging over the city.
Detroit is almost out money.
And the man I thought would be able to get the city through this mess, along with a newly elected City Council I had so much faith in, seem to be letting me down--letting this city down.
At its core, the mayor's emergency restructuring plan aims to cut spending $102 million over the next six months and avert a cash-flow crisis. To get there, Bing says, he would lay off 1,000 city employees and the unions would need to agree — by as early as next week — to reopen contracts and accede to 10-percent cuts in pay, a 30 percent employee share on health care premiums, pension restructuring, work rule changes and reduced overtime.
Today's Detroit News reporting that now Bing has said he's "ready to go to war" with City Council in order to implement his sweeping cuts and layoffs. Is this the kind of rhetoric though that's really going to get things done? Has it really come to this?
How can the Mayor and the City Council be so desperately unwilling to work together?
"There's a big difference intellectually between my staff and them; there's a big difference operationally between my staff and them," he continued. "They haven't run anything. I am open and willing to work with them, but I am not taking direction from them. We've got to get away from politics."
Read the full story here.
Photo by John T. Greilick / The Detroit News
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Huffington Post: "Detroit," Meet Detroit
Didya hear? The Huffington Post is launching a new website called HuffPost Detroit that will be completely dedicated to countering the narrative of national media that "parachute in to cover the declining metropolis."
Pretty cool, right?
And also, I couldn't not blog about the column in today's Huffington Post by Toby Barlow where he discusses something that I always seem to be talking about with people I know. 
"Why do people who aren't from Detroit (i.e. the suburbs) say they're from Detroit?!?" is the usual whining question I receive from certain co-workers, friends and even some family.
My response, much like Barlow's, usually goes something like this: if you're from Southeast Michigan, which for all intents and purposes is Metro Detroit, you are in fact from Detroit.
But Barlow, goes a step further to explain just how important that tie is between the suburbs and the city itself, and why the sooner we all realize that Detroit and it's surrounding suburbs are inseparable, the better off we will all be, and the better off the region as a whole will be in the end. 
The fact is the suburbs have been trying to run away from Detroit for half a century and all it has brought is ruin and depression for all. It's time to stop running. It's time to embrace this place. Luckily for you, right now, it's a wonderful town to embrace.
The fact is that too many of the suburbanites cling to a past Detroit that was and never will be again, and in the process they fail to recognize the positive changes that are taking place there today, right now.
People will say, "Oh it's not like it was," they'll say they can't bear what happened to Detroit, but they're simply blind to the possibilities of the present. Nostalgia for an old bygone Detroit is fine, but it's not relevant to what is happening on Michigan Avenue, on Woodward Avenue, and in Eastern Market right now. 
I do have to make a point to say though that I don't necessarily agree with Barlow's blanket statement that "nothing good ever came out of suburbia." While yes, I would love to see more people ditch the suburbs to move back into the city center, I acknowledge the realities of the situation. City living isn't for everyone, that's the honest truth, and quite frankly I had a pretty damn good upbringing in the suburbs so I understand the appeal to some people.
However, while I'm not asking for a mass exodus from the suburbs to downtown Detroit any time soon, I am asking that people at least give Detroit a chance, because like Barlow said: "Luckily for you, right now, it's a wonderful town to embrace."
Read the full column here.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Detroit's Deco Glory
The Detroit News put together a nice photo gallery documenting the best of Detroit's historic downtown art deco architecture. 
From the Penobscot Building to the Book Cadillac Hotel, many of Detroit's oldest buildings have withstood the test of time while others have received thorough restorations.
Check out the gallery here.
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jdetroit-blog · 12 years
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Freep: 'People just love Detroit'
Jim Schaefer and John Gallagher write in today's Free Press about the increasing amount of positive press being given to the city of Detroit by national media outlets. Could the tide be permanently turning finally?
Yes, the narrative seems to be changing.  Those outside of Detroit are finally starting to come around and realize what many of us already knew.
But, here's where the biggest challenge begins, at least I think so. Because, for so long Detroit has been the underdog, the hopeless city, the forgotten town that always had to prove itself.
Now that we've finally gotten the attention we deserve, we can't simply declare victory because we're nowhere near the finish line. Truth is, there's a lot of work that still needs to be done. There's still unemployment, there's still a failing public school system, and Detroit's population is still not where it should be.
But at least now, the rest of the country, and maybe even the world is watching, and maybe now they're more willing and eager to root us on than tear us down.
And what sparked this latest wave of affection from afar? Growing signs of a rebound. And the same thing that so often draws the national spotlight: our sports teams. With an almost perfect storm of success, the undefeated Lions, the Yankee-killing Tigers and winning seasons for our two big college football teams are once again driving the deconstruction, reconstruction, explanations and excuses of an underdog town.
Check out some of the coverage the D has received recently:
Wall Street Journal - Detroit Sees Signs of Turnaround...
USA Today - Detroit Rising
Read the whole story here.
  Eric Milliken/Detroit Free Press
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