* I know urban enthusiasts aren't too keen on Warren to say the least but it's the 3rd biggest city in the state and it's not going away any time soon so hey if they want to jump on the walkable bandwagon in their own way I say go for it.
A good friend of mine lives in Warren so I've been spending a lot of my time there recently for the first time in my life. Although she would prolly be the first to point out the negative aspects of living there but at the same time Madison Heights & Hazel Park are rapidly gentrifying as satellite cities of the Woodward corridor but 10 - 15 years ago Hazel Park was known locally by some as "Hazeltucky".
Warren isn't the most attractive of cities in terms of what people are looking for now but the northern part of the city i.e. north of 696 is a middle and even upper-middle class area in some spots. There are resources that can be built off the General Motors Tech center is the obvious one but the US Army Tank Automotive Command is south of 12 Mile from the GM tech center.
Basically in Warren the 12 mile corridor which also includes the civic center and the South Campus of Macomb County Community College is the only area that has the conditions to possibly redevelop into a more urban area. At the very least Warren leaders have watched cities like Hazel Park & Madison Heights which 10-15 years ago had a reputation similar to Warren become hot destinations for youth and empty-nesters and want to get in on the action.
I could see some spill over being possible if housing becomes an issue in the current "spill over" area in regards to the Woodward Corridor. But to capitalize on it and not just attracting to a narrow area along the border with Oakland County. Will Warren be able to do it, idk to start they would have to make a lot of pedestrian friendly improvements that I don't think the majority of Warren voters would care about. There's also the caveat of course that if the improvements were made in their neighborhood and they don't require raising large amounts of new revenue I'm sure there would be broad support.
Warren tried a few years ago to get something like this going but it went nowhere Southfield had an ambitious plan to redevelop it's civic center as well which seems to have been scaled back at least for now. So we'll see but I definitely do want to see all our cities succeed so i'll be rooting for it or a better project I guess.
Quote:
Warren to seek developer for $125 million-plus walkable downtown
By ANNALISE FRANK
Crain's Detroit Business
March 22, 2018
-Mayor Jim Fouts gives State of the City address
-Seeks developer for $125 million project to create walkable downtown
-To issue request for proposals April 9
Birmingham-based Gibbs Planning Group Inc. outlined the vision for Warren Town Center, a walkable downtown area about 16 acres in size that would cost approximately $125 million to create. It would be built just north of 12 Mile Road along Van Dyke Avenue, across from the GM Technical Center.
The city will issue a nationwide request for proposals April 9 with the aim of finding a developer or team to undertake its new proposal, which is likely to cost $125 million or more, Fouts told Crain's on Thursday.
These aren't the city's first plans for new development across Van Dyke Avenue from General Motors Co.'s tech center. Previous attempts to create a bustling city center at Warren's Civic Campus east of Van Dyke and just north of 12 Mile Road have fallen through, according to city planning documents.
"I'm pretty bullish on this happening. Except, of course, if the economy were to flip over, that would curtail things, but right now it's a good time to invest," Fouts said. "So right now Warren is ripe for new development. Without GM, I don't think we'd be able to sell it as well."
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http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...kable-downtown