Looks beautiful and sticks it to a recalcitrant billionaire with the help of our Canadian friends all while not costing US taxpayers a cent, what’s not to love.
Looks like I was wrong in my assessment of which stakeholder(s) are pressuring the 375 project it isn’t Lafayette Park but the Downtown Detroit Partnership. Which kind of surprises me considering Lafayette has at least in the Detroit Thermal case become very well organized recently and litigious.
I don’t like leaving the 75 interchange in place because it keeps the corners of downtown, Brush Park & Eastern Market more isolated. But this needs to happen and I’m okay with keeping the interchange if that’s what it takes even if it’s a decline in the overall quality of the project imo.
I’m cool with a “scaled down pedestrian version” but I don’t like where this is going. If the DDP’s problem is loss of arterial access I think Marvin Beatty is speaking with the voice of the majority. Then again the possibility for more land to develop in the future has to be an enticing prospect. Again I worry because with the current economic climate the Fail Jail has been scaled back to basically nothing, a worrying sign.
Just as important potentially could be voices we aren’t hearing the voice that matters most downtown Dan Gilbert’s. He’s made his name advancing quality projects that bring back connectivity and now he’s on the Ren Cen project. We’ve seen no movement on that lately how does a downsized 375 affect the Ren Cen? Is this maneuvering to force Gilbert to get behind leaving 375 up to make the Fail Jail and Ren Cen projects easier, idk.
I think if it came down to keeping the 3 main towers up or tearing down the Ren Cen completely that changes public sentiment on what they support. I personally think losing the Ren Cen completely would be the physical manifestation of loss of “major city status”. It’s one thing to say well there’s 7 million people within 60 miles of the city and really Detroit is a much larger metropolitan center than the official stats suggest. Reality is as much perception as it is being.
Downtown Detroit Partnership lobbies to scale back I-375 project
(Credit: Downtown Detroit Partnership)
The Downtown Detroit Partnership is advocating for a scaled-back version of the Interstate 375 project after the Michigan Department of Transportation recently announced it was pausing progress.
MDOT announced the pause of the $300 million Reconnecting Communities Project on August 11. It had aimed to fill in the sunken interstate on the eastern edge of downtown and raise it to a four-lane, street-level boulevard.
The project has been 10 years in the making, but business leaders across the city have been opposed since its inception.
In a Tuesday email to stakeholders that was shared widely from DDP CEO Eric Larson, the DDP is now putting its support behind two possible outcomes: that MDOT scale back and convert the stretch of the interstate from Mack Avenue to East Jefferson Avenue into a tree-lined boulevard, or reduce the project scope entirely to only repair the I-375 bridges.
The former would require MDOT to postpone addressing the I-75 interchange, which serves as the entryway to downtown Detroit for thousands of commuters. It would also reduce costs, shorten the construction timeline, and limit negative impacts to Downtown businesses, visitors, and residents, Larson argued in the email.
….
“If done right, the boulevard-only plan would shorten the duration of construction and its impact on residents, businesses, stadiums, health care facilities and entertainment and hospitality venues; reduce costs; and lessen the overall impact on the city,” Larson wrote.
MDOT previously said it delayed the project "due to rising costs, longevity of the final project and roadway, and public concern over design elements.”
Partners for the project include MDOT, the city of Detroit and the DDP. The group has been holding regular “Neighborhood Framework” meetings to gather input from the community on the project since 2024.
Marvin Beatty, chief community officer at Hollywood Casino at Greektown, said the closure of I-375 would effectively cause the casino, which relies on access from I-375 and its service drive, to lay off its 1,200 employees and close its doors for good.
Beatty, an original owner of the Greektown Casino-Hotel before it was rebranded under the Hollywood flag, is also the board treasurer of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership, another stakeholder in the project. He said the casino and other stakeholders, including the Detroit Lions, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, St. Andrew’s Music Hall, Eastern Market District, the Detroit Athletic Club, the Detroit Opera House and more remain in unified opposition to the project.
Beatty suggested in an interview with Crain's that MDOT fix the bridges and deteriorating roadway with the federal money designated for the project, but no further construction on the stretch of highway. In its proposal to MDOT, the DDP agreed.
….
“I don't have anything good to say about the process,” Duggan said during the Wednesday night meeting. “By the time they got done with 10 years of changing (the project), they would have shut down I-75 for two years … MDOT is reevaluating now but I think you're going to probably find a rebuilding of the bridges that need to be done but I don't think you're going to see the plan to tear out I-75. I think they're probably off of that.”.
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transportation/downtown-detroit-partnership-wants-i-375-scaled-back
Prev
Linear Mode
