The 3.3-mile M-1 Rail line in Detroit has been described as a boondoggle of unparalleled proportions. Boosters of the project, however, have gathering evidence of investment in neighborhoods along the route.
"M-1 Rail may be a year away from ferrying passengers from downtown to Midtown, but housing developments already are popping up along the Woodward Avenue route," reports Louis Aguilar. According to that line of thinking, the housing developments could be "an early sign the streetcar service could play a major role in eradicating blight along the 3.3-mile line."
As for the long-term returns expected from the investment in the M-1 system, "[w]ithin 10 years, its supporters contend, the M-1 Rail will drive $3 billion in development and 10,000 housing units, filling the yawning gaps of dead buildings and empty lots along Detroit’s most storied street." Moreover, more than a dozen buildings have changed ownership in the neighborhood of Milwaukee Junction—a sign of investors anticipating the M-1 Rail's arrival.
The article also provides details on three of the ten housing plans currently in the works along the route.
FULL STORY: M-1 Rail helps get Woodward developments rolling
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research