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Originally Posted by hudkina
Guess what, 26 year old white males aren't the only demographic worth courting. There are plenty of middle-class (black) families in Southfield. Even if some areas are becoming less desirable, there are plenty of middle-class areas that will remain so for long term.
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Guess what? Southfield is no longer the ideal suburb for middle-class blacks either. Southfield was a solid black middle class suburb during the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s, However many longtime black middle class residents have migrated to Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield. Moreover, many black middle class families are skipping Southfield altogether. Unlike the past, as evidenced by census data, black middle class families are found in a number of new and established suburbs where in the past, for a variety of reasons, they stayed in the city or in a handful of suburbs like Southfield.
Retailers only care about making money, not whether "there are plenty of middle-class areas that will remain so for long term." in Southfield. The problem is that Southfield's established retail has seriously declined or its on life support. And Southfield's poorer population, as evidenced by declining home values, falling population, and lower incomes, does not help attract retailers. The number and quality of its stores have declined since the 90s. Sears, Khol's, Kmart, JC Penny and other department stores closed up shop in the city. Plus, why should retailers undercut their investments in nearby Troy, Birmingham, West Bloomfield, and Novi by adding the same stores in Southfield?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hudkina
The area of focus will be the land north of Civic Center Dr. between Evergreen and the Lodge. Is it really that difficult to imagine someone building a few multi-story buildings along Civic Center drive with retail on the first floor, and offices or residential above? They're not trying to create the next Birmingham. They're just trying to bring a struggling, but still viable area into modern times.
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Yes, I can't imagine anyone taking an area twice the size of Northland Center (and probably a third to half the size of the downtown Detroit CBD) and transforming a suburban office environment into a faux urban mixed use development. Especially when there is no demand for that type of retail in Southfield, little residential demand, let alone multistory residential, and office demand is unlikely in an area where there is already empty or half-empty office buildings. I would like to see Southfield succeed, but even the most desirable suburbs have not been building multiple, multistory buildings at the same time. Plus, as has been noted, Southfield is no longer the king of metro Detroit office space and it probably won't get that title back anytime soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MLive
The suburbs continue to have higher vacancy rates than Detroit’s core, but are improving. Southfield, which used to be the best sub-market in the metro area, had a vacancy rate of 29.7 percent in the third quarter, the report from NGKF says.
During the third quarter, Southfield’s vacancy rate fell 40 basis points to 29.7 percent, its lowest level since 2011. A little more than 58,000 square feet of Southfield’s office space was absorbed during the period...
...For the city of Detroit, the rate of empty office space fell 60 basis points to 26.5 percent, while 70,000 square feet of commercial real estate was leased up.
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http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...s_metro_a.html