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Originally Posted by JonnyFive
uhh... what about the hideous condos in Brush park that are less than five years old or the new loft building in Brush Park that is equally hideous. New Woodbridge homes that look like they belong in Novi? Hundreds of ugly, ugly units all over midtown.
The destruction of those new parking structures is a lot.... just think... those could all be skyscrapers.....
I'm a dreamer...
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We dont' necessarily need skyscrapers. Detroit never really was a highrise city. Although, I think promotion of higher structures should seriously be considered. It's more about contents of what a city is. For instance, think of the 1001 Woodward Garage and its physical and psychological role in the cityscape. Yes, it is a pretty large structure, is built up to the sidewalk, and creates a contiguous, urban "wall" on Woodward. But in reality, all it really is is a bunch of hollow concrete where people store their empty metal contraptions called cars. So, despite this huge, massive structure, all that's really there is a pharmacy.
Do you see my way of thinking? I'm not undermining the importance of parking, because it is a HUGE chunk of making downtowns work. But at the same time, this piece of real estate, in the heart of the CBD, arguable the most valuable land in greater downtown, is 98% parking.
To conclude, I 100% agree that it's obsurd to have to built massive parking with massive new construction. The 1001 garage was built to accomodate the residences in the high rise, and serves the municipal needs as well. However, it is not a full garage. Therefore, it is my understanding that development in such a downtown should craftfully mix and match separate developments together with parking needs and parking availability. If I lived at Merchants Row, there is no way in hell I would park at the elevator garage. I would park either underground at the Millenium Garage or at 1001. Same goes for if I lived at one of those new loft conversions at Griswold and Grand River that are taking forever to construct. Consider where those people will park when those open up. Will they demand that they build a garage on Capitol Park? I think not.
mhays, come to Detroit any time. You're always welcome to come see how we're digging out of this mess.