Parking is ample and gravely in Foxtown.
There are two views of Mike Ilitch, downtown mover and shaker.
For some, he is a savior: The guy who brought his business downtown when no one else would, the guy who saved the Fox Theater, the guy who built Comerica Park. For others, Ilitch brought his business downtown because Emmett Moten, the city's then-development chief and future Little Caesar's executive got him a sweetheart deal on a building that Chuck Forbes had already begun renovating and he's the guy who requires massive public subisidy to do anything (including demolition) with his real estate.
Kelly Ellsworth, Curbed Detroit's architectural critic, is of that second school of thought.
Curbed Detroit: Over the last 20 years, the Ilitches have managed to gain control of the majority of the land behind the Fox Theater over to Grand River, as well as a large portion of land just north of I-75 west of Woodward. When you throw in Motor City Casino, the ballpark, Joe Louis Arena and various other properties, they control (through lease or ownership, outright or through subsidiaries) an estimated 100+ acres of land in the downtown area. And they didn't even have to jump through hoops for City Council – take that John Hantz! Obviously the takeaway here is that transparency is for suckers.
With this land they've become hoarders in the truest sense. The existing structures seem to have little to no value in their eyes, and as a result they've let historically significant buildings rot. They've torn down most of the streetscape that existed, occasionally using public funds ($2.5 million in 2008, for example). And they've reduced the land to its lowest and worst use: gravel surface parking.Just when the hoarding starts to seem out of control they throw out a hint that something might happen. Buildings on the Woodward surface lots in front of Comerica Park! The renovation of the Detroit Life Building on Park Avenue! A new building behind the Fine Arts facade! But you've seen Hoarders, you know it doesn't stop. It's a disease, people.
