A slow fade in, and a tinkling piano picks out a familiar phrase. The camera watches a familiar Metro Detroit main drag bathed in the golden light of a summer afternoon, while a mellow man’s voice speaks: “Downtown Royal Oak brings to mind one word.” The shot dissolves to a quartet of young men walking […]
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Posted inBusiness Watch
Aerotropolis searches for dollars, stability
To proponents of Detroit’s “aerotropolis,” the airplane could be as important to Michigan’s economy in this century as the automobile was in the 20th century. The “aerotropolis” sounds like something out of “The Jetsons” — an airport surrounded by a bustling city fueled with a constant stream of people and cargo coming and going from […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
For $400 million, you get a double-decker rail tunnel
A freight rail tunnel under the Detroit River — nearly two decades in the planning — is nearing the construction phase, its backers say. The $400 million Continental Rail Gateway would replace an obsolete, 102-year-old rail tunnel that is too small to accommodate modern, double-stacked rail cars. “We’re really excited about it,” said Marge Byington, […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Economists pitch Halifax-Detroit freight link
Detroit could become a major inland port by establishing a rail link with the expanding deepwater port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, say three Michigan economists who have formed a nonprofit group to promote the idea. The Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway ultimately could create 150,000 jobs associated with transporting billions of dollars of auto parts, […]