I'm actually live around this area, but unfortunately I know painfully little about its economic plans/policies. I would be curious to hear other people's thoughts about this article
I think the council was really stupid for not taking the governors offer to turn Belle Isle in to a state park. I think corruption on the city council has impeded the city for years and the population that supports the council must either be complete idiots or corrupt themselves, because they've sown the seeds of all of this. I applaud guys like Illitch and Gilbert for taking the initiative to buy these properties and attempt to capitalize on them. As a citizen of Detroit I would find this encouraging. These guys wouldn't invest in something unless it could be viable, which means they see some hope for the cities future. I think Detroit is ripe with potential opportunities. There are a ton of young entrepreneurs that are fixed on Detroit as the location to start their businesses. I have a friend that did a small tour of the US to scout for areas to open his distillery and he ended up choosing Detroit. I see a continuously brighter future for the Motor City. I really do, it's just going to take a while. It's happening though.
The City Council is strangling the city. They are inept. I have dreams of opening a factory in Detroit. There are so many people there that are desperate for work. It would be a tough thing to do, and you would probably have a lot of turnover in the beginning, but I am sure that you could get Detroiters making something like shoes at a competitive price.
In 2011 I attended an event called FutureMidwest at the Eastern Market. It was backed/funded by Gilbert and he gave away $1M to a startup at the event. I had several conversations with locals about how attractive Detroit is to a Chicagoan. They didn't believe me. Lo and behold, a Chicago based agency gave one of the last talks of the conference and said exactly that, urging locals not to abandon Detroit but instead to embrace the city, see it through the lens of an outsider. There's great freedom in being in a place with lots of people and low rents. You can't find that in Chicago. And the nights out in Detroit are far and away more charming and creative. Chicago's forgotten what it means to be "cool", if it ever knew in the first place. Detroit, on the other hand, has "cool" locked down.
Yeah, tons of creative energy here. I know several people in their 20s and 30s who have started businesses in the city who are doing pretty well right now. The energy of entrepreneurs is definitely stronger than all of the political negativity. Most of the political negativity comes from many years of unchecked corruption now having to deal with a class of people moving in who want better. Hopefully its in its death throes. Its an uphill battle, however, when you have city leaders objecting to a state financial takeover by saying things like, "This is white-on-black crime. This is white supremacy. Before you can take over our city, we will burn it."
I would like to exchange all of my dollars for "Rands".