Detroit had no need for downtown demolition blitz ahead of NFL draft | Opinion
Detroit loves to throw a party. From the annual fireworks to multiple Stanley Cup parades, this city has giant celebrations in its DNA.
But in decades past, many of those celebratory events came with a glance over the shoulder, a barely concealed worry that something would go wrong. Detroit seemed to fear that visitors would notice the blighted and broken urban landscape just behind the curtain.
Even Super Bowl XL in 2006, deemed a triumph for the city, followed a frantic rush of demolitions and patching up of eyesores lest out-of-towners take home a bad image of the city.
Remember the Donovan Building? The 10-story office tower on Woodward near Ford Field, once home to the business offices of Motown but empty for many years, was razed, along with the adjacent Sanders Building in January 2006 just weeks before the Super Bowl out of fear it might give the wrong impression.
It wasn’t the only building to be demolished ahead of the anticipated Super Bowl crowds. And the dozen or so derelict tall buildings downtown, known collectively as the “dinosaurs,” like the then-empty Book Cadillac hotel? It wasn’t feasible to demolish them, so the city sheathed those in vast mylar wraps with football images to conceal the blight.
It was reminiscent of an earlier practice of putting awnings on empty eyesores along the People Mover route so visitors couldn’t see into the vacant spaces inside.
When Super Bowl XL was in the books, the city let out a collective sigh of relief that nothing had gone wrong.
Letters to the Editor: RenCen isn’t an architectural jewel. Tear it down.
As Detroit puts the finishing touches on its NFL draft extravaganza this week, the tone is different. Gone is the apologetic air, the fear that visitors will discover the blight just around the corner.
Instead, the blocks-long set-up for the draft bespeaks a hard-won confidence, a belief that visitors can see what they wish without fear we’ll somehow slip up.
Remember years ago when the media would turn out just for a new Starbucks or pancake house opening? Decades ago, we grasped at those fragile signals of hope. Now the city takes even the vast and expansive NFL Draft in stride.
Challenges remain for Detroit, and some big ones. Rising home values in the city haven’t banished housing insecurity for many. Poverty remains too high, unemployment remains well above state and federal levels, and our public transit needs years more work and commitment to become even adequate.
More from opinion: Rural water systems are vital to the health of the planet.
All that admitted, think of what’s happened in Detroit even since the Super Bowl just 18 years ago.
Dan Gilbert moved his Quicken Loans, now Rocket Companies, downtown and preceded to fix up dozens of downtown buildings. His $300-million renovation of the classic Book Tower is magnificent. Gilbert’s Hudson’s Detroit tower just topped out and will become General Motors’ new world headquarters.
The City of Detroit’s spin through municipal bankruptcy in 2013-14 continues to pay dividends for the city’s fiscal health. As Mayor Mike Duggan announced just weeks ago, the city’s credit rating now has risen from junk to investment grade for the first time since before the bankruptcy.
And so much more: The splendid RiverWalk is annually voted the best waterfront in the nation. Ford is about to open the long-derelict Michigan Central Station. Mid-rise and high-rise housing is going up all over. Little Caesar’s Arena hosts both the Red Wings and Pistons as well as concerts and special events. Even the improbable Detroit Lions are now the talk of the football world.
How did it happen? There were no silver-bullet solutions to Detroit’s problems. Rather, numerous Detroiters worked for years across many fields of endeavor — from entrepreneurship to urban farming to municipal reform and much more — that collectively moved the city from despair to its newfound confidence.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors coming for the NFL draft? Let them. From the huge NFL draft stage near Campus Martius to the many attractions up and down Woodward to the riverfront, Detroit is ready.
Detroit loves a party, and it has earned this one.
John Gallagher covered Detroit’s redevelopment efforts as a Free Press reporter and columnist from 1987 through 2019. He continues to write on a freelance basis and work on book projects. His latest book is “The Englishman and Detroit: A British Entrepreneur Helps Restore a City’s Confidence,” available on Amazon or through local bookstores. He was a 2017 inductee into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL draft prep shows 2024 Detroit is in better shape
