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Hamtramck, a city, that for a while, seemed to be on a steady decline, is gaining a reputation as a place where entrepreneurs can experiment and where a relatively new wave of immigrants are helping build its future.
Walter Wasacz writes in Model D:
Most residential blocks are stable. Housing prices are up slightly, as are rental units, though the cost of living is still far less than in the nearby, 7.2 square mile greater downtown Detroit.
What's missing is what's coming: an integrated cityscape powered by a robust local economy, fed by business activity on two commercial corridors, Jos. Campau and Conant. Add to that Caniff — an avenue mixed with retail, restaurants and residential — effectively becoming a bridge connecting the two primary commercial districts.
The merchant class leading this commercial resurgence will come as no surprise to those who have been paying close attention to the Hamtramck economic story: immigrant entrepreneurs. They've found success by selling to people who will buy it because they need it, then expanding the base to non-ethnic consumers. Bangladeshi-American businesspeople began investing in Hamtramck in the late 1980s.
