Wayne State University’s TechTown was intended to incubate high-tech when it was christened a decade ago. However, a survey of the 63 tenants now operating out of the 84-year-old, 120,000-square-foot former Chevy Creative Services building in central Detroit shows nearly two-thirds are doing things other than high-tech. The survey by Bridge Magazine shows life sciences, […]
Detroit
Posted inBusiness Watch
How far will Midtown's momentum go?
There are two Detroits in the life of Theo Nicholaidis. The first is a city of cafes and galleries, with his favorite crepe restaurant just down the block from his two-bedroom condo, a newly rehabbed unit with hardwood floors, a fireplace and deck. “We go for walks at night through the neighborhood,” Nicholaidis said. “There […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Advocate keeps selling Detroit to young professionals
Dave Egner has traveled a long way to end up right where he started. Egner’s hometown is a third of the population it was in 1950. It has a high poverty rate and high crime rate. Ninety percent of its residents are African American. It’s surrounded by richer communities. Having grown up in East St. […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Fresh food firm grows into Detroit role
How many of you would raise an eyebrow at a story linking the term “food desert” with Detroit? Just one more bit of tough news for a city with a plate piled high with challenges, right? Well, the reality is different — and better. There are more grocery stores in Michigan’s largest city than most […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan poised for better days
The idea that no one would ever think of moving to Michigan because our economy is an utter wreck has, sadly, seeped into the pores of our body politic. It’s almost beyond debate now that we can’t sell Michigan to those who don’t live here. I’m still not buying the argument. And my reasons rest […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Analysis: African Americans hit hardest on homeownership
Editor’s note: Bridge presents, from time to time, comments from Kurt Metzger of Data Driven Detroit on what the 2010 census results mean for Michigan today, and tomorrow. Metzger worked for the U.S. Census Bureau for 15 years and has been studying demographic data and issues in Michigan for three decades. Homeownership was humming nationally […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain” — Adlai E. Stevenson Jr., two-time Democratic presidential nominee and a governor of Illinois. * The invaluable Michigan Campaign Finance Network, […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Stomach-churning: Highs and lows in Mich. economy
Michigan has starred in its own disaster movie in the first decade of 21st century. The economic equivalents of F5 tornadoes and magnitude 9 earthquakes have battered the automotive industry and smashed construction work in the state. You knew all that, having lived here. But amid all the destruction there was surprising growth over the […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Immigrants can energize Detroit
(Originally published July 28, 2011) Whatever you think of Detroit, it is hard to imagine Michigan thriving if our largest city isn’t on some kind of road to prosperity. And plenty of folks, both business-oriented (think DTE Energy, Business Leaders for Michigan) and philanthropic (think the Kresge, Skillman and Hudson-Webber Foundations) are committed to and […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Get cracking on Metro Detroit freight hub
(Originally published July 13, 2011) This may sound too good to be true, but it is true: Michigan could easily transform itself into a global freight gateway that could create more than 200,000 jobs and add billions in economic activity. And this could all happen within the next decade. If we play our cards […]