Downtown Revitalization: Detroit

Rosa Parks Transit Center



The $22.5 million Rosa Parks Transit Center was completed in July 2009 after first being announced in 2005. Incorporating a soaring tensile canopy, the 2.4-acre intermodal center serves as a major transfer point for buses and the Detroit People Mover. If the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is in need of a great example of a cost efficient intermodal transportation center, Detroit's Rosa Parks Transit Center is as good as any.







Greektown & Greektown Casino



The area of downtown known as Greektown was home to Greek immigrants during the early 20th century. The Greektown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. As of June 2012, only three full-fledged Greek restaurants remain in Greektown. Today, the historic district is a popular dining and entertainment district, anchored by Greektown Casino.

Greektown Casino is one of three downtown Detroit casinos Michigan voters gave the go ahead for in 1996. The others are MGM Grand Detroit Casino and MotorCity Casino.

Greektown's Monroe Street is a great when preservation of existing buildings and revitalization come together. The casino itself, opened in 2007 utilizing historic buildings originially used for fur processing. This collection of buildings had been converted into a festival marketplace in 1985 by developers Cordish Embry & Associates. In 2009, a 30-story, 400 room modern hotel was added to the Greektown casino complex. The Greektown Casino Hotel replaced a parking garage as opposed to historic structures in the vicinity.
























Jefferson Avenue



Jefferson Avenue is one of the five principal avenues in the city, which also include Michigan, Grand River, Gratiot and Woodward avenues.

An eight-lane roadway through downtown, it severs the riverfront from the core of downtown Detroit. Nevertheless, the use of pedestrian refuges and signals enhance the pedestrian environment.

If people have no problem crossing Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, State and Union Streets should not be viewed as obstacles between downtown Jacksonville and Springfield. Give people a reason to cross, while making the crossings as safe as possible, and people will walk between the two districts.









Woodward Avenue



Known as "Detroit's Main Street," Woodard Avenue runs from downtown Detroit northwesterly to Pontiac, MI.

The street is one of the five principal avenues in the city, which also include Michigan, Grand River, Gratiot and Jefferson avenues.

In downtown, it directly ties Hart Plaza/Detroit International Riverwalk, Campus Martius Park, Merchant's Row, Grand Circus Park, and Comerica Park together.

The Woodward Avenue Streetcar, a 3.3-mile-long modern streetcar line, may be one of the most ambitious transit projects in the country.

The $140 million project is being funded largely by a consortium of private and public businesses and institutions within the corridor.  When complete in 2016, the 11-station starter system will connect the Detroit People Mover with a railroad station in New Center which serves Amtrak and the proposed SEMCOG commuter rail system.

M-1 Rail — who’s paying?

The M-1 Rail line is funded by a combination of private and public money — making it unique among big-city transit lines. There are more than 20 sources. Here are the main ones and the amount each is giving:

? $35 million: Kresge Foundation
? $25 million: U.S. federal transportation grant
? $9 million: Detroit Downtown Development Authority
? $6 million: Ilitch Holdings
? $4 million: Ford Foundation
? $3 million donors: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Chevrolet division of General Motors, Chrysler Foundation, Compuware, Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health System, Penske Corp., Quicken Loans, Wayne State University
? $1 million: Hudson-Webber Foundation