A Booming Detroit is still fragile? (Farmington Hills, Royal Oak: affordable apartments, rentals, houses)

[MS313]

Originally Posted by Indentured Servant

I think Detroit should embrace the "booming" label and run with it....even if it is not true at this point in time....it can likely become a self fulfilling prophecy. A good part of Detroit decline is the result of self fulfilling prophecy of negativity.

I remember living in Atlanta in the 80's when it was a metro of 2.5 million people. I swear everyone in the area worked for the Chamber of commerce and was selling the city. I would read all kinds of embellishments in their local media about how big Atlanta was and everyone seemed to buy into it.....and it eventually became true.

Yup... the thing is there is so much in the city to brag about and encourage people to check out but unfortunately some people seem to be stuck on negativity. I found this post in the comments section of the freepress link the OP gave us.

While Detroit has many genuine problems it also faces a tidal wave of negativity...some of which are warranted while some are also what I'd refer to as 'old grudges' and complaints that will never be forgotten. If you continue to hang onto the ugliness of the past you'll never see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you don't choose to want to see or find it...so be it, but consider allowing others to re-build the city without your negativity.

It couldn't be anymore true. You can see some of that right here on this thread, people who claim that their glad they "got away" but still on the forum complaining about it like they still live here. And even worse, discouraging other people from being optimistic.

Freep did a story saying the residents were more optimistic too. 70% seems kind of high, but then there's a lot that people haven't seen happen in a long time, I guess.

I'm partially surprised as well but I guess it doesn't take much to be better than it was a few years ago. 69% of the city also feels pretty safe. But I kind of figured that, most people aren't living in war zones. Let's be real, crime is sky high in the city but most of the violence is between criminals and hot headed individuals who let personal beef go too far. Being aware of where you are and who your around like any other major city has kept most people I know out of harms way.

Anyway, the same poll from just 2013 seemed alot different. It's crazy what 2 years can do. Detroit has a long way to go but the change in attitude is quite refreshing.

[Republic of Michigan]

Exclusive Detroit poll: 69% say city headed in right direction

Among the major findings from the Free Press poll:

69% say Detroit is headed in right direction.
56% say conditions in Detroit have improved from a year ago.
44% say city services in Detroit are better than a year ago, while only 5% say municipal offerings are worse.
51% say they are optimistic about Detroit’s financial future.

However, about 43% of those polled said they'd still leave the city if they could afford to move.

[Omatic]

Detroit has a long way to go. It's nowhere near booming. I'd love for Detroit to follow in the footsteps of cities like Seattle and Austin to become the next "it" city but I see no signs of that happening.

It's great to see them working on downtown/midtown, and I'm sure the stadium and entertainment district would be nice to visit. But that's all people want to do - visit. They go see the Red Wings and Lions play and then they go back home to Troy, Birmingham, Sterling Heights or wherever they live. I don't blame them. Why would they want to live there? The rest of the city is being ignored. The schools are getting worse and worse. Abandoned houses continue to rot. Most of the stores have window bars and bulletproof glass. Population continues to decline. I see no improvement except in a couple areas. The stadiums, the casinos, etc is does nothing to help the people already living there. It's just to attract tourists who visit and leave.

[MS313]

Originally Posted by hstutz

How can you attract tourist when the city is not safe?! .. the roads are crap... there is no public transportation,, I'm sorry but Detroit looks like Haiti.. I only go there when I HAVE too.. its not safe ,, you wont get economical growth with a dysfunctional city government.. ... Michigan as a state is on a downfall... stop day dreaming.... don't tell people how to feel or think.. for economical growth you need safe streets, police and low taxes! .. none is found in Detroit! its sad to say this.. but Detroit should be left alone.. that city is taking so much money and giving nothing back sometimes its better to just move on... and don't call it a city ... cause it looks like a parking lot!

Your logic is pretty flawed and quite laughable. Ok, first of all Detroit looks nothing like Haiti, unless you can find me a part of Detroit that has close together shacks the size of most Detroit garages with no pluming, electricity, ect.

As far as the tourist thing... what does road conditions and public transportation have to do with tourism?
Detroit gets 16 million tourist a year with very little good publicity. Also, the city doesn't necessarily have to be safe for tourist to come... in America alone some of the most visited cities are pretty dangerous: New Orleans right off the bat is even worse than Detroit and just about their whole economy is based on tourism, Miami, DC, Orlando are others that come to mind. In other countries your talking a whole nother world of danger that American cities don't even come close to. Jamaica for example is a dream destination and their crime rate is outrageous.

And also, Detroit is a CITY. Looks like a parking lot? lol so what do you say about the other major cities that have a smaller population density than Detroit? and there are ALOT of them.

[huckster]

You've misunderstood Fubar. Booming as written here means the sounds of a city expansion not the destructive sounds of Demolition Fubar, you've missed the entire point of what everyone is optimistically trying to establish here........Short , to the point, and hilarious post. Keep up the running editorial. The reality of the situation in Detroit overwhelms all else, the hats off to you for a clever post.

Originally Posted by Fubarbundy

Some booming might be the sound of the implosion of buildings beyond repair?

[huckster]

The tech sector brings 50 billion annually into the Austin economy. No it isn't happening but it would be, a true turnaround for Detroit. I agree- Booming is an optimistic but inaccurate economic description.
Austin is beautiful and new looking. San Antonio, Tx is better.

Originally Posted by Omatic

Detroit has a long way to go. It's nowhere near booming. I'd love for Detroit to follow in the footsteps of cities like Seattle and Austin to become the next "it" city but I see no signs of that happening.

It's great to see them working on downtown/midtown, and I'm sure the stadium and entertainment district would be nice to visit. But that's all people want to do - visit. They go see the Red Wings and Lions play and then they go back home to Troy, Birmingham, Sterling Heights or wherever they live. I don't blame them. Why would they want to live there? The rest of the city is being ignored. The schools are getting worse and worse. Abandoned houses continue to rot. Most of the stores have window bars and bulletproof glass. Population continues to decline. I see no improvement except in a couple areas. The stadiums, the casinos, etc is does nothing to help the people already living there. It's just to attract tourists who visit and leave.

[North 42]

Originally Posted by Omatic

Detroit has a long way to go. It's nowhere near booming. I'd love for Detroit to follow in the footsteps of cities like Seattle and Austin to become the next "it" city but I see no signs of that happening.

It's great to see them working on downtown/midtown, and I'm sure the stadium and entertainment district would be nice to visit. But that's all people want to do - visit. They go see the Red Wings and Lions play and then they go back home to Troy, Birmingham, Sterling Heights or wherever they live. I don't blame them. Why would they want to live there? The rest of the city is being ignored. The schools are getting worse and worse. Abandoned houses continue to rot. Most of the stores have window bars and bulletproof glass. Population continues to decline. I see no improvement except in a couple areas. The stadiums, the casinos, etc is does nothing to help the people already living there. It's just to attract tourists who visit and leave.

I find it pretty funny that you think nobody wants to live in Detroit, yet it's virtually impossible to find an apartment, house or condo in DT, Midtown and Corktown due to very, very low vacancy rates.

More of the city is getting attention and improved services than it has in decades, vacant homes are either being demolished in record numbers or are being renovated for people to move into, and the population loss is slowing down considerably.

And I'm pretty sure that all the casinos, stadiums etc all supply much needed jobs to residents in the city, contrary to what you think. Yours views are very outdated, as are many unfortunately!

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by Omatic

Detroit has a long way to go. It's nowhere near booming. I'd love for Detroit to follow in the footsteps of cities like Seattle and Austin to become the next "it" city but I see no signs of that happening.

It's great to see them working on downtown/midtown, and I'm sure the stadium and entertainment district would be nice to visit. But that's all people want to do - visit. They go see the Red Wings and Lions play and then they go back home to Troy, Birmingham, Sterling Heights or wherever they live. I don't blame them. Why would they want to live there? The rest of the city is being ignored. The schools are getting worse and worse. Abandoned houses continue to rot. Most of the stores have window bars and bulletproof glass. Population continues to decline. I see no improvement except in a couple areas. The stadiums, the casinos, etc is does nothing to help the people already living there. It's just to attract tourists who visit and leave.

Thanks North 42. The millenials and young professionals are being attracted to the near-downtown area of the city. The new Red Wings stadium is being erected right now and the neighborhood it will anchor will include offices, hotel, retail, and 1,000 housing units. So the vision is for PEOPLE TO LIVE THERE AND NOT TO FLEE BACK TO THE SUBURBS AFTER THE GAME.


Residential buildings in the core of Detroit being built as we speak:

Orleans Landing - East Riverfront
Upscale Detroit riverfront development Orleans Landing moves forward

New Apartment in Harbortown called Water's Edge - East Riverfront
Waters Edge - Harbortown - Luxury Apartments - Detroit

The Scott @ Brush Park - Midtown
The Scott at Brush Park | Sachse Construction

Cass Plaza (renovation of 1920's residential tower) - Midtown
Slideshow: Cass Plaza, Davenport redevelopment

DuCharme - Lafayette Park
DuCharme Place apartment development breaks ground east of downtown

[EastBoundandDownChick]

They seem to be focusing primarily on luxury residences. The group that is most driven to move there is the Millennial generation. Most of them can't afford $1,500+ rents. I'll never understand these greedy developer types...

[citylover89]

I agree with some that the "booming" description is an exaggeration. However, I do think that there have been a lot of improvements in the city of Detroit, especially compared to 2007-2009 recession. I remember when I came back here to visit, Downtown/Midtown was a ghost town back then. I hope that there are more positive improvements in the future. I am seeing a lot of new festivals and creative things cropping up Downtown/Midtown. As a creative type, that is pleasant to see.

People can always find a reason to be negative, it's true. Cities like LA, Austin, Denver and NYC are hot places to live and tons of people hate those places too. Detroit is due for a PR change but that has to be earned at this point. That's reality. The population of the city is still decreasing, although it seems to be slowing, which is a good sign. I really wish that Detroit could find an unique niche besides the auto industry, which contributed to it's decline.