After three years, an ambitious placemaking plan for downtown Detroit has delivered results, but not as quickly as its architects hoped.
Three years ago, Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert spearheaded a plan to revive downtown Detroit. Kirk Pinho discusses the ongoing results of that effort, which has continued despite falling short on its initial timeline.
Several high-profile projects have encountered setbacks. "What was intended to be completed by the end of 2015 is a checklist of the projects and ambitious plans the city still needs done: completion of the $137 million M-1 Rail project, [...] the redevelopment of the 2-acre former Hudson's department store site [...] and a pair of complex projects that would reimagine two key city arteries: Woodward and Jefferson avenues."
Bob Gregory, president of the Detroit 300 Conservancy, joined other backers of the plan in their continued optimism. "'You can go back three or four years ago, and people felt very uncomfortable, whether because of crime, dope or overgrown landscaping [...] These are not big, skyscraping kinds of projects, but we went in there, working off that plan and opened up the pathways, removed the hedges, adding programming and chairs and umbrellas. People are coming back there.'"
FULL STORY: Three years later, Detroit place-making plan still a work in progress
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