As am I. With the dramatic shift in the amount and or time people are spending working from home there’s been a shift in the emphasis placed on downtown development. The Henry Ford - MSU Campus in new center is one example. UMCI is another cornerstone development along with the Ford Campus.
The past decade’s work redeveloping vacant or nearly vacant former office towers into mixed use & or residential has positioned downtown Detroit well. GM’s move to Hudson’s Detroit is in some ways a reverse mirror of downtown in the 70’s. Though if the 4 original office towers are converted into residential it opens up possibilities for a revival of the Monroe Block, the fail jail / old courthouse & jail facilities & Woodward street front next to CoPa.
An interesting piece to note is that towers 600 & 700 are owned by a Gilbert friend. The demolition of 375 opens up space for the old criminal justice complex to be redeveloped. It also opens up the Ren Cen to development long envisioned along the east riverfront & it would be a good time for a Hart Plaza restoration/renovation. At the very least similar to the plans for Second Street by the new JLA site hotel that open up a cluttered and confusing area. Not much can be easily or feasibly done about the tunnel. Yet opening up a community such as has been envisioned by speculators to the east, west & north would be quite an anchor for a 375 redevelopment.
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GM currently owns the original five towers. Two shorter towers east of the original towers belong to Farmington Hills-based Friedman Real Estate, which bought the pair last year from a New Jersey utility company. The firm's founder, David Friedman, is a longtime friend of Gilbert's.
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An optimistic article covering some very important bases as to why after working so hard to bring downtown back the Ren Cen is unlikely to be a ruin. Though it would very likely require a transformative tax break.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...m/73359970007/