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The Planning News Update gathers major news happening in planning and economic development across Metro Detroit, and posts it every other Thursday. Be sure to check back often to keep updated on everything that's going on in our area! If you would like a copy of past updates, please send an e-mail to ei6257@wayne.edu.
Week of October 24
10/13/2011: The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments has received $2 million from the federal government to fund an study for the extension of the Woodward Light Rail line from 8 Mile to Maple Road in downtown Birmingham. The study will include six cities along the corridor—Royal Oak. Pleasant Ridge, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Berkley, and Birmingham, and will measure several different eligibility requirements to secure federal funding including ridership, economic development opportunities, and the overall need of the project in the area. This is encouraging since it indicates that the Woodward Light Rail could easily become regional rather than city-wide in scope; be sure to read full coverage on this development from the Detroit Free Press, Crain’s Detroit Business, and Mlive.com at the links listed below:
- http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011111013054
- http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111014/FREE/111019930/semcog-picks-up-2-million-to-study-woodward-light-rail-extension
- http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/10/next_stop_birmingham_semcog_ge.html
10/17/2011: The Detroit News reports that the city of Detroit is having difficulty keeping lights on in parts of the city, due in many ways to an aging electrical grid that is struggling to continue to operate at the required level of capacity. The system has also been suffering from thieves who steal transformers and other critical elements of the infrastructure required to keep the lights running, which compounds other problems as having lit streets significantly reduces crime in neighborhoods. The article notes that because the repair and modernization of the entire grid would be prohibitively expensive given the city’s current financial situation, under the Detroit Works plan efforts are focused on restoring lighting in the densest areas, but even those face difficulties. For more information on this issue with Detroit’s lighting infrastructure, follow this link: http://www.detnews.com/article/20111017/METRO01/110170356/Detroit-struggles-to-keep-lights-on
10/17/2011: United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has announced that Michigan will be the recipient of $46.7 million dollars to fund improvements in the various transit systems across the state. Part of this money includes funding for the feasibility study discussed above for light rail in Oakland County, while additional money will help to fund purchasing of new buses at transit agencies across the state, including DDoT and SMART. The grant money will also help fund capital improvements at DDoT terminals, as well as several other transit facilities statewide. Be sure to follow the links below for full coverage of these myriad transit investments, courtesy of The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, Mlive.com, and Metromode Media:
- http://www.detnews.com/article/20111017/METRO05/110170398/LaHood--$46.7M-in-federal-funds-coming-for-DDOT-buses--light-rail
- http://www.freep.com/article/20111017/NEWS01/111017027/Feds-offer-46-7-million-Woodward-Light-Rail-new-buses?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
- http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/10/detroit_to_receive_nearly_7m_a.html
- http://www.metromodemedia.com/devnews/1020masstransit0229.aspx
10/18/2011: A grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs has helped to develop the Lincoln Street Art Park in Detroit, ModelD reports. The park bridges between Woodbridge and the New Center areas, and includes a wide variety of community arts. The land for the park was donated by Recycle Here! and was developed in a collaboration with the Midtown, Inc and Detroit Synergy groups. Many of the materials used in the parks construction were recycled, and it is hoped that the park will help connect a series of other green spaces that have recently been developed in Woodbridge and the New Center. Be sure to read the full story on this new green space at the following link:
http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/lincolnstreetartpark101811.aspx
10/20/2011: Metromode Media takes a look at how small bookstores can help keep communities vibrant. The article examines these stores’ role in serving as gathering places for local residents as well as providing substantial amounts of community activities that would otherwise not take place. The article profiles many of the over 30 independent bookstores in the Metro Detroit region, and it also looks at the idea that such locations can serve as gathering places and generators of ideas and creativity in their own right. These businesses also attempt to highlight the area in which they’re located in other ways as well, including selling art from local artists. If interested, read more about how independent bookstores can help keep communities vibrant even in the face of economic hardship, here: http://www.metromodemedia.com/features/bookstoresmetrodetroit0229.aspx
10/23/2011: According to an economic impact study conducted by the Center for Creative Community Development, Detroit’s famed Heidelburg Project is a generator of around $2.8 million per year in the economy of the area around the site. The study shows that the project attracts roughly 50,000 visitors each year, and over 70% of them are not from Wayne County; many even come from outside the state. The article also notes that the Heidelburg Project is in the design phases of building an arts center near the main project site which, when complete, will help further organization of the project itself and enable more accurate data collection on visitors to the site. Be sure to read the full article on the economic impacts of the Heidelburg Project, which also includes a study of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, from Crain’s Detroit Business: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111023/FREE/310239974/art-by-numbers
10/25/2011: Since October of 2010, the City of Flint has demolished 775 houses, nearly one-tenth of the total estimated number of vacant properties in the city, and by far the most in a single year for the city. Many of the homes have been replaced with green space, which has greatly helped to improve the overall appearance of many of the city’s neighborhoods. The city eventually intends to create a process for determining the reuse of the land that will involve community input, but for now they are focused on the 1,500 homes remaining on their demolition list; the list could grow longer as well as thieves plunder materials from abandoned homes. Nevertheless, this represents an encouraging improvement for Flint’s efforts to tackle blight; be sure to read more about the process, including other funding sources that the city received, at the following link from the Flint Journal, courtesy of Mlive.com: http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/10/demolitions.html
10/25/2011: Developer and Detroit booster Dan Gilbert is considering constructing a mixed-use development including retail and apartments on the former site of the Hudson Building in Downtown Detroit. The move comes as Gilbert seeks an extension of tax credits offered for the site, and represents a shift from his initial policies to construct an office tower there to serve as headquarters for Quicken Loans. The article notes that most apartments are now fully occupied in the central business district with waiting lists, and therefore this potential development could help to alleviate some of the shortages. Be sure to read full coverage on this new potential development from Crain’s Detroit Business and The Detroit News at the links below:
- http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111025/FREE/111029950/dan-gilbert-8217-s-real-estate-unit-considers-development-near
- http://www.detnews.com/article/20111026/BIZ/110260346/1001/Gilbert-seeks-tax-extension-on-Hudson%E2%80%99s-site
10/25/2011: ModelD reports that Wayne State is a major partner in the development of a partially vacant lot at the corner of the Interstate 75 Service Drive and Mack Avenue into the Queen Lillian Medical Building. The project will involve the construction of a 5-story office tower at the site and will also include relocation and reconstruction of the playground materials that currently occupy part of the vacant parcel. The project is receiving Brownfield and Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax credits, and its primary tenant will be the Wayne State Department of Psychology. It is hoped that the project will further the economic density of the Midtown Area, and also provide additional tax revenues back to the city. Read more about this new building and the strategies that are being used to mitigate its impact on the surrounding community, here: http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/queenlillian102511.aspx
10/26/2011: By far the largest piece of planning news over the past two weeks is the announcement of Governor Snyder’s infrastructure agenda, which contains several items of interest to planners. The governor proposes increasing vehicle registration fees to provide additional money for badly-needed road repairs as well as indexing the gasoline tax as a percentage of wholesale use, both measures that have been advocated by transportation planners to counteract declining gas tax revenue and improve crumbling roads. Snyder also proposes legislating a regional transit authority for the Metro Detroit region, which would then be able to ask residents for additional vehicle registration increases to fund four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines along Michigan, Gratiot, Woodward (not including those segments planned to be served with Light Rail), and M-59. The plan represents a significant shift in state policy toward infrastructure, and helps to get discussion started on a critical problem facing Michigan over the next two decades. Be sure to read full coverage on the governor’s speech and what it means for Metro Detroit at the list of links here, courtesy of the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, The Oakland Press, Crain’s Detroit Business, and Mlive.com:
- http://www.freep.com/article/20111025/NEWS05/111025053/Snyder-propose-high-speed-bus-network-knit-Detroit-suburban-systems
- http://www.freep.com/article/20111026/NEWS06/110260370/Would-you-pay-40-more-year-fix-roads-improve-bus-service-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
- http://www.detnews.com/article/20111026/METRO05/110260351/Snyder-offers-new-gas-tax-plan-for-road-fixes
- http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/10/27/news/state/doc4ea88db009f6a631806026.txt?viewmode=default
- http://www.freep.com/article/20111027/NEWS06/110270626/Lawmakers-debate-Gov-Rick-Snyder-s-transit-plan?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
- http://www.detnews.com/article/20111027/POLITICS02/110270399/Snyder--$120-auto-fee-hike-may-pay-for-road-repairs
- http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111026/FREE/111029933/snyder-state-should-spend-1b-more-a-year-link-spending-to-road-use
- http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/10/from_registration_fees_to_fuel.html
- http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/10/snyder_continued_failure_not_a.html
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