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Originally Posted by animatedmartian
Yea, Southfield actually has a stable residential population around its town center, with a higher median income, and a functioning government.
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No, Southfield has a declining residential population, lower median income than downtown Detroit, and high-tax, poor service government.
Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian
Troy is richer, but not sure what you mean by successful. The vacancy rates in Troy are just as high as Southfield. Plus that retail is desirable only because of the office parks that are directly adjacent.
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The retail success has nothing to do with office space. It's because Troy is located next to the richest communities in Michigan.
Somerset is wildly successful because of Bloomfield/Birmingham, not because of adjacent, half-empty 70's era office blocks. And office space is irrelevant to creating a walkable community.
Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian
The only difference is that Southfield's retail is all along Telegraph and Northwestern Highway away from where most of the office parks are. In that sense, Southfield hasn't really capitalized on its commuter population like Troy has. But really that's not a very hard adjustment to make if planned correctly.
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No, the difference is that Troy is rich, desirable, growing, and has a strong tax base, and Southfield is none of these things.