Detroit Development News 3

[jmancuso]

continued from old thread.

[Zissou]

The different areas of the building dont necessarily need to be stacked on top of one another. That lot is so huge they could turn it into multiple towers or vary it up a little bit.

[the pope]

yeah, right after they build the twin towers of the udm law campus

[urbanlover]

Goood the hear that something from the SB will have positive impact in the neighborhoods


Ground broken for NFL’s Super Bowl gift to Detroit

By Andrew Dietderich
Feb. 02, 2006 5:17 PM

Richard Dauch had one thing to say about his contribution to help build the NFL Youth Education Town on Detroit’s west side.

“You only pass by once, but what you leave behind is what you stood for,” Dauch told Crain’s after he helped break ground on the NFL Youth Education Town-Boys and Girls Club.

Dauch, 63, is the chairman and CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

The $6 million project at the Southfield Freeway and Joy Road is scheduled to be built on 4.8 acres in Detroit’s Gardenview Estates.


Of the money being used to build the center, about $1.5 million is coming from Dauch and his wife, Sandy Dauch.


He joined a list of Detroit and Wayne County officials, along with NFL executives and players, to introduce the center.


Among those on hand were Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner; Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; Roger Penske, chairman of the Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Committee; and Robert Ficano, Wayne County executive. Players from the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions were there as well, along with about 100 local children.


This isn’t Dauch’s first charitable venture.


He also is chairing the United Way of Southeastern Michigan’s 2006 Torch Drive. He’s on the board of directors for the Boy Scouts of America, Detroit Area Council, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan.


He’s been a supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs for more than 30 years, he said.


Youth Education Town is a private-public partnership funded by the National Football League and local sponsors. Building the centers near host cities has been part of the Super Bowl experience since 1993.


The mission of the program is to enhance educational and recreational opportunities for disadvantaged youth.


“We like Detroit, we like the families, we like the community,” Dauch said. “You have to stand for something, and those are our values.”

[urbanlover]

Penske pledges to stay involved in Detroit

By Anjali Fluker
Feb. 06, 2006 3:07 PM

Detroit area leaders who helped organize and run Super Bowl XL came together Monday morning to wrap up their six-year effort and discuss plans to continue the momentum for growth in Detroit and beyond.

Roger Penske, the chairman of the Super Bowl XL Host Committee, and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick headlined a news conference at the Renaissance Center ballroom.

Kilpatrick described Penske as the one person who brought together everyone from corporate CEOs to “people that ride the bus and drive the bus.” The regional effort and partnerships led to several improvements to downtown Detroit that began 40 months ago — including 142 construction projects, 36 restaurants, 70 new businesses, 900 lofts and 120 streetscapes and facade improvements.

Kilpatrick said he wanted to keep Penske involved in improving the city and the region.


“I told Roger Penske if he tried to get away, I would find him, tackle him, carry him back to Detroit and put him at the head of something,” the mayor said.


Penske said Kilpatrick need not fear; he plans to stick around.


“I listened to (Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome) Bettis last night, and he said the Bus stops here and he’s getting off,” Penske said. “But the people of Detroit are getting back on that bus, and we’re going to run that bus in this region for many months and many years to come.


“I’ve committed time and effort over six years, and I certainly wouldn’t leave the ship at this point, I can assure you that.”


Kilpatrick also mentioned a collaborative effort between Detroit and Windsor to market the two cities with an emphasis on business and tourism, with catch phrases such as “two-nation vacation” and “two-nation destination.”


Joining Penske and Kilpatrick were Susan Sherer, Host Committee executive director; Larry Alexander, president and CEO of the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau; Tom Lewand, Detroit Lions COO and executive vice president and convention-bureau chairman; Jonathan Witz, president of Pontiac-based Jonathan Witz & Associates Inc. and producer of the Motown Winter Blast; Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis; Frank Supovitz, vice president in charge of special events for the National Football League; and Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings.


Witz spoke about the success of this year’s Winter Blast. He said he hopes the event will become an annual downtown Detroit offering.


“Quality events are so important to a downtown,” Witz said. “When you put thousands and thousands of people in the streets, interacting with these businesses and facades and going in them, that’s the magic of how this process continues and how you're sure to continue the momentum.”


George Jackson Jr., president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., attended the event and later pointed to several projects in the works that will help drive continued improvements in Detroit. Jackson said some of those are retail, residential and recreational developments along the east riverfront and in the Brush Park area. It also includes redevelopment of the 14-story Lafayette Building in downtown Detroit into lofts.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin...pl?newsId=7888

[Zissou]

That's great that Penske is staying involved. He is a man who will accept nothing but the best and thats the type of person, especially with his pull, that we need spearheading our revitalization.

[the pope]

the bus metaphors really need to stop.

also, ellington 60% residential sold, 70% commerical

[BosRoker]

Hey guys. This is my first time on a Detroit thread - I'm usually in the European forums.

I just read today about the mayor's comments regarding a mass transit system. I was wondering if you think there's any chance it would extend to Ann Arbor? I often hear us included in "Metro Detroit" but the connection is very limited. People only go to Detroit once in a long while for concerts or important games. If getting to Detroit was made easier I think it'd be very beneficial for both sides.

[Zissou]

Absolutely. The area has already been given 100 million to research mass transit dedicated specifically for Detroit-Ann Arbor with a stop at Metro Airport along the way. The Mayor's most recent comments are regarding region wide mass transit in general. No matter what happens though Detroit and Ann Arbor need to be connected. They are the two major population centers in southeast Michigan.

Keep coming back to the Detroit thread though. We could always use more people.

[hudkina]

The first line in Detroit will most probably be the Ann Arbor-Detroit connection.

[Zissou]

Either that or Woodward.

[ManageMich]

Well, needless to say, I am dumbfounded at the way Detroit has been perceived by the local media for the last few weeks. It has been a great time for the city and may serve as a catalyst for more development. Hosting the Superbowl is like getting a stamp of approval from the mainstream. Detroit needed that approval to push other projects into the forefront. I know the investors involved in the Book-Cadillac, Broderick Tower and Lafayette developments were hoping to see a positive light shone on the city. I think they got it......

[the pope]

^yeah, KK kept annoyingly saying that this was "detroit's coming out party", and as far as i can tell, it really was.

Also, I was damn sick of KK taking credit for SBXL. hell i even have the original pitch to the NFL on my hardrive (mpeg) and it is most certianly a 50 some year old black male balding and wearing a pair of glasses.

[Lmichigan]

He has a name. That is, unless, saying his name is a sin.

[Zissou]

I was a big Freman backer and I still think KK has a lot to learn but lets not downplay his role in making all this happen. He played in instrumential part in making this a huge success, along with Penske.

[the pope]

Originally Posted by Zissou

I was a big Freman backer and I still think KK has a lot to learn but lets not downplay his role in making all this happen. He played in instrumential part in making this a huge success, along with Penske.

my complaint is entirely focused on him claiming "he brought detroit the superbowl"

[Zissou]

Oh i misunderstood. Thats just Kwame. He loves to talk himself up for any little thing that hes a part of.

[the pope]

Zissou,

btw, your photography is stellar. Especially some of the vantage points you got high(er) up during the SBXL weekend.

[Zissou]

Thanks. I cant stand all the parking structures we have downtown but they do provide some very interesting photo opportunities.

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by the pope

Also, I was damn sick of KK taking credit for SBXL. hell i even have the original pitch to the NFL on my hardrive (mpeg) and it is most certianly a 50 some year old black male balding and wearing a pair of glasses.

Originally Posted by LMich

He has a name. That is, unless, saying his name is a sin.

Uh, we're talking about Reginald VelJohnson right?