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  #41  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2011, 6:32 PM
Rizzo Rizzo is offline
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I think we are all saying the same thing here. It's an awful building that we wish could be replaced entirely. But it cannot because it is cost prohibitive. COBO can still remain a profitable facility but requires upgrades. What's been presented to us, is enough to satisfy me at least, knowing the realities of this project.
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  #42  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2011, 7:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
I think we are all saying the same thing here. It's an awful building that we wish could be replaced entirely. But it cannot because it is cost prohibitive. COBO can still remain a profitable facility but requires upgrades. What's been presented to us, is enough to satisfy me at least, knowing the realities of this project.
It's awful in theory, and right now it's an unsightly behemoth, but I honestly don't see this huge negative impact on downtown that everyone's talking about. I guess it functions as an unnatural barrier to the outward growth of the CBD, but it's at the very outside corner of it anyway. If the city was healthy (which it isn't) and growing (which it isn't) then I would have more of a problem with it, I think.

Can you honestly say you've ever been trying to get somewhere and been annoyed that Cobo was in your way? I walk all over downtown and I've never felt it had a negative impact on the city for any other reason than its ugliness.
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  #43  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2011, 12:35 AM
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Originally Posted by fishrose View Post
It's awful in theory, and right now it's an unsightly behemoth, but I honestly don't see this huge negative impact on downtown that everyone's talking about. I guess it functions as an unnatural barrier to the outward growth of the CBD, but it's at the very outside corner of it anyway. If the city was healthy (which it isn't) and growing (which it isn't) then I would have more of a problem with it, I think.

Can you honestly say you've ever been trying to get somewhere and been annoyed that Cobo was in your way? I walk all over downtown and I've never felt it had a negative impact on the city for any other reason than its ugliness.
Well your question is answered in your first paragraph. It's on the edge of the CBD, and there isn't any regular destination* on the other sides. But yes, if Detroit's downtown were growing, it would be unfortunate that some of the city's best real estate was occupied by a large box with an ugly parking lot on top. I'm sure the view from office buildings above still won't get much of an improvement after renovations. A parking lot is a parking lot.

* Joe Louis arena is not a regular destination, it's seasonal.
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  #44  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2011, 1:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
Well your question is answered in your first paragraph. It's on the edge of the CBD, and there isn't any regular destination* on the other sides. But yes, if Detroit's downtown were growing, it would be unfortunate that some of the city's best real estate was occupied by a large box with an ugly parking lot on top. I'm sure the view from office buildings above still won't get much of an improvement after renovations. A parking lot is a parking lot.

* Joe Louis arena is not a regular destination, it's seasonal.
There would arguably be no regular destination on the west side of Cobo regardless; isn't the majority of the area to the west of the Riverfront Condominiums a massive brownfield?
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  #45  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2011, 2:07 AM
DetroitMan DetroitMan is offline
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Detroit Midtown housing incentives draw hundreds
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About 300 employees of three Detroit anchor institutions have applied for incentives to live in the Midtown district and 42 have been pre-approved for them, the leaders of the incentive program said today.

Omar Blaik, founder and president of U3 Ventures and a consultant to the Live Midtown incentive program, said the applicants have been evenly split between those who want to buy property in the Midtown district and those who want to rent.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110303/BUSINESS06/110303054/Detroit-Midtown-housing-incentives-draw-hundreds?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
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  #46  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2011, 10:50 PM
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Scuttlebutt: Ilitches float idea of putting 'roof' over I-75 near possible hockey area site
Chalk this up — for now — into the juicy rumor category: The Ilitches have floated the idea of putting a greenspace-walkway "roof" over I-75 at Woodward Avenue.

Why? If they build their long-proposed hockey arena for their Detroit Red Wings on land they own just north of the highway along Woodward, then having what amounts to a massive pedestrian bridge linking the venue to their properties south of I75 (the Foxtown area) makes sense.

The Ilitch-owned Hockeytown Café, Fox Theatre and Comerica Park would be more easily accessible if there were more than just Woodward Avenue and other road-bridge sidewalks (and future light rail line) connecting those properties to the land north of the I75.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ver-i-75-near#
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  #47  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2011, 5:34 AM
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Completely off the topic of the thread, but I just thought this was an awesome short article:

Quote:
Crowd helps prosecutor stop would-be thief

Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News

March 18, 2011

Detroit —Even a top official in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office was surprised by all the help he got when someone swiped his wallet from a downtown restaurant table.

"It was just a dumb, young kid. I was yelling that he stole my wallet and I was running, and people kept joining me," said Donn Fresard, chief of staff for Prosecutor Kym Worthy, on Thursday.

"The whole chase only lasted like 17 seconds, but it became a universal community effort."

Fresard was paying his lunch tab at Fishbones in Greektown on Wednesday when he saw a hand slide his wallet from the restaurant table and a tall figure bolt for the door.

Jumping from his chair to give chase wasn't exactly the lawyerly thing to do, but Fresard, 54, was quickly joined by other unlikely pursuers.

Bernard Youngblood, 61, the Wayne County registrar of deeds, jumped up from a table nearby. The saxophone player on the corner of Beaubien and Monroe, David "Bosco" Willis, tucked the horn underarm and also joined the chase.

Employees of Fishbones and a cadre of Detroit police and Wayne County Sheriff's deputies ended the pursuit.

"The guy coming around the corner (was) yelling, 'Get him! He took my wallet.' I'm on it because I'm tired of this," said Willis, a 36-year-old laid-off Detroit Public Schools janitor who also plays for donations in the summer outside Comerica Park. "People have tried to steal the change from my box, the sunglasses off my face. I'm tired of people in our town being put upon."

...

"I ran after them because I didn't want Donn to be out there alone, but it turns out Greektown is not the place to commit a crime," Youngblood said.

The entertainment district is almost surrounded by law enforcement facilities, including the headquarters of the Detroit Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Wayne County Jail and juvenile facilities, and multiple government offices including the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice.

"I kept thinking my hunting license is in there," said Fresard who is preparing for a trip next week to a snow goose hunt in South Dakota.

"I was actually catching up to him because his baggy pants kept falling down."

The 14-year-old suspect made a wrong turn exiting the restaurant, doubling back in front of another exit where Fishbones employees blocked his path.

"A Detroit Police cruiser burned rubber to back down the street when they saw the chase coming at them," Fresard said.

Willis said a man ahead of him tackled the suspect, "like a football player. I'm sitting on top of the kid and turn around and, whoa! There are police with guns drawn."

As the officershandcuffed the youth, Fresard said they asked him:

"What's wrong with you? Don't you know there's probably more police in Greektown than at Somerset (the fashionable shopping center in Troy)?"


...

On the way to his office, Fresard said he thanked the sax-playing Willis, dropping a $10 bill in his instrument case.

"I just hope this poor kid gets handled in a way that he realizes this is no way to live," Fresard said.
What a moron. So, you're not in school when you should be, and then you're going to choose to gank something from a guy in downtown Detroit (busy Greektown, no less) during the lunch hour in a busy restaurant?

Stay in school, kids.
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  #48  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2011, 6:25 AM
Rizzo Rizzo is offline
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Alright, I'm hitting up Detroit this weekend. What should I take photos of / new developments?? I haven't spent a full day in the city since I left Michigan. I've only visited twice since August 2009 and wasn't there more than a couple hours.
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  #49  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2011, 1:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
Alright, I'm hitting up Detroit this weekend. What should I take photos of / new developments?? I haven't spent a full day in the city since I left Michigan. I've only visited twice since August 2009 and wasn't there more than a couple hours.
You picked the one weekend in months that I've gone back to Battle Creek; I would have offered to buy you a beer.

Work has begun on the Broderick and I haven't been downtown to get photos yet. They've cleaned up the windows and part of the facade and they're working on the interior. They're also renovating some historic apartments on John R by the DMC. I'm not entirely sure what else is actively under renovation/construction, I've been buried under a pile of schoolwork and I can't see out
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  #50  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2011, 3:18 PM
hudkina hudkina is offline
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You should have waited another month. This weekend is going to be very cold. Check out the Dequindre Cut, the new Riverwalk and state park. There's a ton of crap to see in Midtown. They have that green alley, the midtown loop, tons of new businesses, the new student housing, etc. Check out the revamped DIA. (BTW, I don't know how long it's been since you left, so I don't know what is "new" to you.)
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  #51  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2011, 6:36 PM
Rizzo Rizzo is offline
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I'll come back again soon. Though much of this trip so far has been stumbling around Ann Arbor lol. Heading to detroit tonight for dinner, but I'll definitely be exploring a lot tomorrow in Detroit.
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  #52  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2011, 8:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
I'll come back again soon. Though much of this trip so far has been stumbling around Ann Arbor lol. Heading to detroit tonight for dinner, but I'll definitely be exploring a lot tomorrow in Detroit.
I recommend 3rd Bar if you're in Midtown and the thirst strikes you. It's at 3rd and Forest, it just reopened and the atmosphere is pretty cool.
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  #53  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2011, 9:36 PM
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@ cobo, the concept video is pretty grabbing. the real thing will be to.
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  #54  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2011, 5:08 PM
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Quote:
Motown Distillery set to begin production in Elevator Building
TUESDAY, APRIL 05, 2011

Craft brewing is expanding in Detroit in more ways than one. The Motown Distillery LLC, the city's first modern micro distillery, is set to open this summer in the Elevator Building.

David Ayyash and Michael Ansara worked in the liquor industry before taking on their own hard liquor operation. The partners plan to manufacture spirits from their home base in the Elevator Building that they hope will end up in bars and store shelves across the state, like local craft brewers do today. They plan to start with vodka and move onto other liquors.

"We are big believers in Michigan and Detroit," Ayyash says. "Our ingredients used in this mix will be all local and exceptional."
http://www.modeldmedia.com/startupne...ery040511.aspx
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  #55  
Old Posted May 16, 2011, 5:50 PM
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The David Stott Building has new lights at the crown in the shape of a cocktail glass, presumably to promote the new upscale bar that is set to open on the first floor. They're still waiting on a liquor license, but the renovation of the first floor is complete.
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  #56  
Old Posted May 26, 2011, 10:52 PM
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Skidmore to move into Gilbert-owned Madison Theatre building

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The Skidmore Studio advertising and design firm is close to a deal to move the 52-year-old firm from Royal Oak to Detroit, taking space in the Dan Gilbert-owned Madison Theatre building.

President, CEO and owner Tim Smith confirmed this morning that a deal is imminent. Quicken Loans Inc. vice president of communications Paula Silver confirmed that the signing is expected by tomorrow.

Smith said the company has been exploring a move to Detroit from Royal Oak for more than a year and is excited about the deal.

“Skidmore was established in 1959 in Detroit,” he said. “We want to get back to our roots and we want to be part of this resurgence in Detroit.”

The firm will take 10,000 square feet and will move all 23 employees to the Madison Theatre building at 1555 Broadway St. Skidmore is currently leasing space at 301 W. 4th Street in Royal Oak, with the lease up in September.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...eatre-building
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  #57  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 1:02 AM
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New hotel plan emerges for the David Whitney building

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A new downtown hotel is planned as part of a mixed-use development for the historic David Whitney building.

The 19-story building will be split between apartments and hotel rooms.

It was purchased in March by Whitney Partners LLC, an evenly-split joint venture between Detroit-based developer The Roxbury Group and Farmington Hills-based hotel investment firm Trans Inns Management Inc.

Trans Inns executives say that despite the negative image of Detroit hotels, there is demand for a boutique hotel.

“In the first quarter, the revenue performance is up 25 percent in the city,” said Mike Damitio, senior vice president of acquisitions for Trans Inns. “A unique offering, aimed at Gen-X, Gen-Y people in a true, historic, downtown building, would do well.”
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...itney-building
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  #58  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 1:06 AM
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BodyPartChart to move to Detroit, double workforce

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BodyPartChart LLC, a Livonia-based maker of anatomical and health care graphics, plans to move to Detroit as part of Dan Gilbert's call for all of his related companies to move downtown, said Sam Gray, a chiropractor and co-founder of the company.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ble-workforce#
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  #59  
Old Posted May 28, 2011, 3:16 AM
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I really like what Gilbert is doing, here. It's always great to land the biggies, but I like how smaller, creative companies aren't being overlooked. Those little things start to add up on the ground after awhile, that's not to mention that many large companies started out tiny.
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  #60  
Old Posted May 30, 2011, 12:53 AM
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Next brick in Gilbert's real estate empire: First National
Quote:
In his career as a Detroit landlord, Dan Gilbert had a milestone last week with the signing of the Royal Oak advertising firm Skidmore Studio to one of his buildings -- the first tenant outside his group of businesses.

And he'll need the momentum, as his portfolio is set to expand again in July when he expects to close on the 800,000-square-foot First National Building in Detroit.

Gilbert said each move in Detroit has created more momentum, and he expects Skidmore to be the first of several companies to take space in his buildings.

"Once a deal is signed, it creates another brick in the wall and it gets people looking up, saying, "Hey, I want to be part of that,' " he said.

Gilbert, through his Rock Ventures LLC group of companies, recently has been eyeing the First National Building. He confirmed Friday that he has the building under contract.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...irst-national#
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