48 Vacant Buildings Blight Downtown Detroit (sale, real estate, hotel)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Interactive Map

48 vacant buildings blight downtown Detroit | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20090817/METRO01/908170334/48-vacant-buildings-blight-downtown-Detroit - broken link)

Pictures:
DETNEWS.COM | NEWS Photo Gallery

Interesting.

[City of Motor]

I thought it was 12?
12 Skyscrapers, mabye.

[Coldjensens]

Does anyone nkow what percentage of the REnCen is now empty? I see a lot of vacant floors, but I have no idea what the percentage is.

[ocean2026]

Those buildings are treasures, its something that sets Detroit apart from most of the south and southwest. They need to be restored. Real estate taxes in Detroit are horrible and should be based on last sale or current market value- otherwise old buildings will rot... and so will Detroit.

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Does anyone nkow what percentage of the REnCen is now empty? I see a lot of vacant floors, but I have no idea what the percentage is.

Last I heard it was 75% occupied, but that was last year when GM did not make all of those white collar layoffs yet. I would probably guess ~65% or so for 2009.

Instead of building new buildings (like the Detroit pension funds want to do on the riverfront) they should look into moving into already existing office space, like in the RenCen.

[Cliffie]

I wish they would reframe this to read "48 VACANT PROPERTIES -- OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME FOR SMART INVESTORS."

[ocean2026]

Cliffie I said they were great treasures which they are.

If they were marketed as "Opportunity for Smart Investors" that would be such a blatant lie, that they could be prosecuted for violating Michigan's Deceptive Trade Practices Act-lol

There are three problems with them as investments.

1. The fix up

2. The high tax rates especially when they are assessed at many times their real market value

3. You might not realize this Cliffie but Detroit is losing population at a fast clip and most of these buildings were already vacant. There is nothing that will get people back to Detroit.

Treasures does not equate to investment.

If you saw a pretty tiger at the zoo - you might enjoy its grace and beauty- but that's not the same as petting him or taking him home.

[OyCrumbler]

Why can't they do a fire sale and a guarantee of going easy on the property tax to investors who are able to present a tenable plan? The whole point is to use these vacant yet valuable properties to lure people into the city. I honestly don't understand the demolition of sturdy and functional buildings when they can be used as a selling point for the city. It seems like complete madness to not have found a way to make this work. The destruction of the Detroit Statler Hotel is utterly mind-boggling to me.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by STLCardsBlues1989

Interactive Map

48 vacant buildings blight downtown Detroit | detnews.com | The Detroit News (http://www.detnews.com/article/20090817/METRO01/908170334/48-vacant-buildings-blight-downtown-Detroit - broken link)

Pictures:
DETNEWS.COM | NEWS Photo Gallery

Interesting.

Wow! I mean, wow. Being from Chicago, it's amazing to see the beautiful buildings of Detroit in such a state. We have similar buildings in and around the Loop in the Windy City but they're largely restored, active and well-maintained.

Hopefully you guys will experience a "back to the city" movement of some kind in the reasonably near future and your downtown can once again thrive. It would be a shame to see these go to waste and get torn down. We have enough suburban sprawl in this country as it is! Buildings like these need to be restored and occupied.

[Mach50]

Gorgeous buildings, it would be such a shame to tear any of those down.

Preserve the entire thing, sell it to foreigners wanting a piece of the US. Sell it to the Smithsonian at $1 and have them make a National Auto Museum out of it.

Anything, to keep those!