Detroit Among World's Most Underrated Cities (Cadillac: lofts, condominiums, loans)

[andyc0803]

STORY LINK

Detroit

A new breed of urban homesteader is helping to revive Motor City. Abandoned factories and warehouses like the Russell Industrial Center have been turned into studios for artists and artisans, while gardens now flourish in formerly vacant lots. The exuberant Heidelberg Art Project turns urban blight into a symbol of hope. Detroit's food scene, meanwhile, is taking off. Foran's Grand Trunk micropub, the Eastern Market, Supino Pizzeria, and Slows BBQ are just some of the gastronomic must-dos. Don't forget the city's museums, including the Detroit Institute of Art, home to Diego Rivera's "Detroit Industry" murals, and the delightful Motown Museum.

Don't Miss: If you're there on the weekend, swing by Café d'Mongo's, an antiques-filled speakeasy with live jazz that's open only Friday nights.

I think this is really nice.

[AlohaHuey]

I don't know about "underrated" (that may come in ten years) but it is a city ripe for redevelopment.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

I don't know about "underrated" (that may come in ten years) but it is a city ripe for redevelopment.

The term "underrated" obviously refers to the NOW. It's underrated because the things quoted, among others, are not known to the PRESENT-DAY general public. It's underrated because crime+blight, and nothing else, is the simple-minded cliched image which is doled out by the natl media. Your response indicates you accept this image (but you're certainly not alone).
If the present-day image of crime/blight ONLY was accurate, I would agree with you.
If you think about it, every city, state, thing has its own cliched image, which disappears once you visit and explore. Accept the fact that any view from the media comes through a narrow window.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

The term "underrated" obviously refers to the NOW. It's underrated because the things quoted, among others, are not known to the PRESENT-DAY general public. It's underrated because crime+blight, and nothing else, is the simple-minded cliched image which is doled out by the natl media. Your response indicates you accept this image (but you're certainly not alone).
If the present-day image of crime/blight ONLY was accurate, I would agree with you.
If you think about it, every city, state, thing has its own cliched image, which disappears once you visit and explore. Accept the fact that any view from the media comes through a narrow window.

Jeezus-effing-Christ. Every disagreement on matters of opinion are "cliches doled out by the national media" and "you haven't been here enough to know"...

Where are the economic opportunities to draw a sustained influx of people? THAT is why I said give it ten years. You have to have more than artists' lofts and a couple good restaurants to revitalize a downtown the size of Detroit.

Detroiters have become a bunch of whiners. WTF happend to you all? Did the Lions sap all of your cajones and thin your collective skin?

[detroitlove]

wow really?

we do have more than "artists' lofts and a couple of good restaurants"

[Jwo85]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

Jeezus-effing-Christ. Every disagreement on matters of opinion are "cliches doled out by the national media" and "you haven't been here enough to know"...

Where are the economic opportunities to draw a sustained influx of people? THAT is why I said give it ten years. You have to have more than artists' lofts and a couple good restaurants to revitalize a downtown the size of Detroit.

Detroiters have become a bunch of whiners. WTF happend to you all? Did the Lions sap all of your cajones and thin your collective skin?

Past 10-12 years has seen newly built Casino's, Restaurants, Sports stadiums, rehabilitated buildings for hotels and high end condo's/lofts, river front cleaned up and turned into a nice River walk, re-established Campus Martius Park.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by AlohaHuey

Jeezus-effing-Christ. Every disagreement on matters of opinion are "cliches doled out by the national media" and "you haven't been here enough to know"...
Where are the economic opportunities to draw a sustained influx of people? THAT is why I said give it ten years. You have to have more than artists' lofts and a couple good restaurants to revitalize a downtown the size of Detroit.
Detroiters have become a bunch of whiners. WTF happend to you all? Did the Lions sap all of your cajones and thin your collective skin?

The fact that you believe Detroit only has a "couple restaurants and artists lofts" proves my point about the "cliche image" which you just expressed! Faint praise.
The keyword was "underrated", nothing about its need for improvement!
Your comments about "whining" are exposing your views, or were you just caught up in the moment. No biggie.
You don't like the Lions either? Too bad. Don't know what they have to do with anything other than you see them as a negative about the city.
Our responses merely disagreed with you as far as I can tell...I didn't see any vitriol there.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

The fact that you believe Detroit only has a "couple restaurants and artists lofts" proves my point about the "cliche image" which you just expressed!
The keyword was "underrated", nothing about its need for improvement!
Your comments about "whining" are exposing your views, or were you just caught up in the moment. No biggie.
You don't like the Lions either? Too bad. Don't know what they have to do with anything other than you see them as a negative about the city.
Our responses merely disagreed with you as far as I can tell...

Uh, I was directly quoting the passage you posted.

The author gave that scant evidence for "underrated" status. Flimsy to me.

Originally Posted by detroitlove

wow really?

we do have more than "artists' lofts and a couple of good restaurants"

Uh, really. I was quoting the OP's post. If that's the highlight...and the blurb is quoted verbatim...then that isn't much to give it "underrated" status.

I would also add the museums aren't necessarily new...the DIA and the HFM and the Motown museum have been there for decades.

Originally Posted by Jwo85

Past 10-12 years has seen newly built Casino's, Restaurants, Sports stadiums, rehabilitated buildings for hotels and high end condo's/lofts, river front cleaned up and turned into a nice River walk, re-established Campus Martius Park.

The casinos have dropped off...that's really not much of an improvement, either.

Sports stadiums are nice for the owners.

Once again...where is the economic opportunity to drive sustained growth to the redeveloped parts of the city? Unless and until that is in place, the rest is just chump change. Unless and until that is in place, how can Detroit be considered "underrated"?

To butcher Twain a bit...

"Rumors of Detroit's comeback have been greatly exaggerated"...

That said, if the economic engine downtown is ever restarted, I think there are fantastic opportunities to bring Detroit back from and out of the negative connotation under which it has suffered for decades. Bing seems to be on the right track with concentrating the population in a few areas and growing from there. But I believe the true comeback is 10 years or so away.

[Remisc]

Detroit is being revitalized. I've said this in other threads in response to people from outside the area that claim Detroit is stagnate and isn't underrated. But, here it goes again.

The '8-Mile Stigma' is fading, fast. White suburbanites like myself and ForStarters are moving back to the city in record numbers.

I was driving around a while ago, and I saw 3 homes being restored in Joseph Berry Subdivision, all within a block of each other. Homes and buildings are being renovated all up down the main roads of Detroit.

Big companies like Compuware and Quicken Loans are moving Downtown, which is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with vacant buildings being restored, like the Book-Cadillac Hotel/Condos.

Formerly abandoned factories and other buildings on the riverfront, north of Downtown, are being turned into upscale lofts and office buildings. A huge swath of land off Chene Street was turned into condominiums.

Corktown is a gentrifying neighborhood, with a growing 'yuppie' presence. They're attracted there because of the ethnic diversity, eclectic businesses, and proximity to downtown.

In the Marina District, where I live, the entire neighborhood makes you feel like you're in the suburbs. They're large, well-maintained homes with big, green front lawns, swimming pools and patios, and minivans and SUV's in the driveways. There's a huge community involvement here, too. Safe, with clean streets. Me and my family live in a new home that faces the Detroit River, in the Marina District. My children attend a very nice private school that is much better than the school they attended at our former home in the suburbs. Yes, I am a Detroiter - and I couldn't be happier with it.

But, you never hear about any of this in the media. Which is why Detroit can easily be called 'underrated'.

[detroitlove]

all I want to know is, why are you here? clearly you don't like MI as a whole (from your other post). Secondly, what don't you understand about "underrated"? Does not mean we couldn't make room for improvement, a bunch at that, but it just pointing out things people wouldn't think were here (detwah explained this to you already)