  Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 792 Registered: 01-2006 |
Lafayette Park will get a supermarket in the plaza that currently houses some great food and entertainment! There is a sign on the windows of the only empty storefront that says "Coming Soon Downtown Foodland Supermarket". There are already popular stores in this stip including Cottage Inn Pizza, Paris Cafe, Sala Thai and Intus (nightclub). Welcome to the neighborhood! | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3896 Registered: 02-2005 |
With Eastern Market, small grocers, and now what will hopefully be a low-cost supermarket, downtown/midtown residents should be able to take care of their food needs with trips to the suburbs. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 793 Registered: 01-2006 |
There is already a low-cost Spartan Store just a few blocks away...I hope this is a full service grocer, on a scale the east side needs. | ||
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336 Post Number: 3279 Registered: 02-2007 |
isn't foodland a spartan affiliate? | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 366 Registered: 09-2006 |
This is good news for us here in Lafayette Park, you can just about walk to most things you need or like to do now. Good for the area and downtown in general. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 1561 Registered: 07-2004 |
Foodland? Do they have fresh food? They struck me as a ghetto-mart with cheap, corn-syrup-laden "food products" and frankenfresh produce... | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 794 Registered: 01-2006 |
I agree Bill. This neighborhood has everything. It will be many years before I even consider living elsewhere! | ||
Bvos Member Username: Bvos Post Number: 2243 Registered: 10-2003 |
Foodland stores are individually owned stores. Food is supplied to the store by SuperValu through a group purchasing program. The variety and breadth of Foodlands are up to the owners of each store. Metro Foodland at Grand River and Sfld. Fwy. has very competitive prices, good selection (pretty close to full service), high quality, and professional staff. If the owners of Metro Foodland are involved with this (I have no idea if they are or aren't), then this will be a great store that will do great in a food desert. | ||
Dannaroo Member Username: Dannaroo Post Number: 170 Registered: 05-2006 |
I don't know why BVos is posting about supermarkets when he should be focusing on whether or not planners have some sort of social significance and if the literature agrees with that or not. Regarding supermarkets on the east side... I have nothing to contribute. | ||
Detroitrise Member Username: Detroitrise Post Number: 389 Registered: 09-2007 |
The eastside does have full service markets actually. They're just poorly run is all. By the way, is this the same black-owned Foodland that originally abandoned many of it's inner city locations? | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 795 Registered: 01-2006 |
I was getting kinda sick of going over to the harbortown market, which is WAY overpriced and the selection is poor. They know people will shop there though becauase there are not many alternatives. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 432 Registered: 10-2006 |
So, is the Foodland going to occupy the same space that the other grocery was forced to vacate? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3901 Registered: 02-2005 |
They've got plenty of parking. That won't be a concern. Elaborate on 'forced'... I don't know the story. Do you just mean they did poor business? | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 433 Registered: 10-2006 |
Forced means forced. Their lease was not renewed because developers were slating to tear down the existing structure, and build it up to the street if my memory serves me. Check the archives for Lafayette Market. There was lots of discussion. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3903 Registered: 02-2005 |
Now that is really interesting. Honestly, I can't believe I missed that. Redeveloping it in that way is really what I would want to see, but that's clearly a no-go now and I guess the important thing is that there is a supermarket near downtown. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 796 Registered: 01-2006 |
I dont thin it would have been smart to redesign that plaza. Each of the tenants is a destination business that relies heavily on people traveling it is...not so much people passing by. The only people who walk the area are us residents of the neighborhood. With transit as poor as it is in this city, that is a much needed parking lot. In my opinion, that is one location where such a stip mall is necessary. | ||
Eric_c Member Username: Eric_c Post Number: 1081 Registered: 11-2003 |
Mies thought so, too! | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1306 Registered: 10-2003 |
they weren't forced out. they left because habitat stopped subsidizing rent for tenants and they couldn't afford to stay any longer. habitat could no longer afford the high subsidies there and maintaining the towers and pavillion behind. so they decided to concentrate on those and the apartments have really benefitted since then. the original intention was to tear the plaza down and put in new townhomes. luckily another corporation bought it from them and restored the the shops to what they are today. paris cafe is the only store that stayed throughout the restoration. box seat and sala thai left and came back. there used to be a two story bank building in the corner of the "L" but that was torn down for the restoration. | ||
Spitty Member Username: Spitty Post Number: 633 Registered: 07-2004 |
Has anyone ever been to Intus? I forget that place is there, and I was picturing this supermarket occupying that space as well. Is that dollar store still in business? Will it remain? I live right around the block, and I pick up pizzas from Cottage Inn every once in a while, but I don't really pay attention to the other half of that strip mall. Now I will. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 797 Registered: 01-2006 |
I walk over to get cottage inn on many saturday nights (college football+pizza is a great tradition) and the parking lot is usually packed, and I would assume Intus is as well. I love the paris cafe. The people in there define the integrity of this neighborhood. I have not eaten at the Thai place, but I will check it out soon. | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 367 Registered: 09-2006 |
Sala Thai is great,, both for dine in and take out. I walk across the street to it from 1300 all the time. Its a handy plaza, especially if you live in the surrounding area and just walk . Your right about the Paris Cafe, great owners.. Its a really good self contained plaza with Cottage Inn, the Dollar Store and the new grocery store along with the other stores. All the stores are clean, new and have friendly owners. Lafayette Park is definitely a city neighborhood that works well together. Being so close to everything downtown is a major asset for its residents also. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 434 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: Ripping down a functioning Mies Van Der Rohe building is what you want to see? What's next? Rsa: I guess it's a matter of how you look at it. I remember the owner of the Paris Cafe stating that Habitat was trying to bankrupt them. I'd have to do some research in order to refresh my memory about the whole ordeal, though. | ||
Det_on_nation_365 Member Username: Det_on_nation_365 Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2007 |
It's great for lafayette Park! I had been a life long (LP) resident until I moved away last year. I would love to move back for good and this might just help me reconsider once my lease is up. LP is truly a jewel for the city of Detroit. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1307 Registered: 10-2003 |
it should be noted that the shopping center was not designed by mies, only in the miesian style and is in the mies historic district. dds; i can't speak for the other shops, but that is why the market left. it was only surviving on the good graces of habitat towards the end. you could really tell with the quality of products and upkeep of the building. | ||
Bvos Member Username: Bvos Post Number: 2244 Registered: 10-2003 |
Danaroo, That's a rather hypocritical comment there! The grocery store that was in the plaza was a pathetic mess for the last several years of its existence. To say that it was a shame to loose would be to say that you enjoyed food poisoning from the half-thawed and frozen/refrozen food in the broken down freezers and coolers. I can't blame the Habitat folks for kicking them out. How can you have "luxury" apartments with a nasty ghetto grocery store a stones throw away? A grocery store is the one missing link this plaza had. With the demise of the Farmer Jack out on E. Jefferson, the deal likely cemented itself fairly quickly after the closure announcement. | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 2416 Registered: 07-2004 |
There was talk a few years back about building some townhomes on the eastern part of the shopping plaza parking lot as well as to the south where some one-story senior residences existed. What's the latest word on any of these plans? | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 798 Registered: 01-2006 |
Royce, someone at the Paris Cafe last week (not one of the regulars I usually see) mentioned that there was a dispute about ownership of the Orleans/Lafayette corner. I do not know who owns it, but with that great location and the right knowledge of the industry, I think someone could make a killing by building residential on that corner. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3912 Registered: 02-2005 |
Dds, few would contend that a low-rise strip mall behind a parking lot is the most important part of Mies contribution there, or the most visually appealing. Be honest, is that the best way that Laf. Park can present itself to the street? (Message edited by mackinaw on November 02, 2007) | ||
Detroitbill Member Username: Detroitbill Post Number: 371 Registered: 09-2006 |
Lafayette Park is a great neighborhood, I dont think most people on here realize what a great place it is to live in, With all the new development downtown and immediate area, its keeps getting better. The best part is its a very reasonable area to live in and property taxes on the co-ops (Mies townhouses and 1300) are extremely low .. ( generally 900-1600 yearly). You cant match that in any area of the city or burbs. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1308 Registered: 10-2003 |
there's no dispute on who owns it; habitat split it off when they sold the shopping center. that's why that portion of the old parking lot is now blocked off. the problem that arose when they started looking into building townhomes on the site is the old easements. all of the easements (which prohibit building on them) still exist from when the street grid was intact. the problem with that is all of the utilities that run along/under them would need to be relocated. last i heard was that they were still going ahead with the project, but that was in march. [btw. i live in lafayette park area and concur it is a hidden gem and a wonderful place to live.] | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 436 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: The original premise of the entire development was to not present itself to the street. And few would contend that ripping up Lafayette Park and returning it to a grid is a good idea. Since you've already come out as a proponent for that idea, and I myself feel the area should be preserved for its residents and its historical value, I guess I'm being very honest when I say it is the best way to present itself to the street. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3913 Registered: 02-2005 |
Thanks for the info, Rsa. What grid? Nobody is tearing up LP, they're just looking to rebuild a horrendous looking retail strip. It's been well-established that people love the enclave-style housing that is set far back from the street. Great. But nobody lives at a strip mall, and my point is that this piece is really the face of LP when you drive down Lafayette. You can do better, and even people that love LP for all that it is should know this. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 440 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: They never taught you in high school that using the word "should" is a shame word and indicates a severe case of insecurity? What's with all the "You can do better" crap? Why not just accept the fact that people who live there like it that way, as do the existing businesses. As of now, I think you're the only one referring to it as "horrendous." Ripping up LP and restoring the grid was your idea, remember? quote: My point was, is that you have your agenda/feelings for LP, and no matter what anyone says, even residents, you really aren't open to discourse. Especially when speaking down to everyone like you do. (Message edited by dds on November 02, 2007) | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 301 Registered: 08-2007 |
Dds, pay no attention to Mackinaw, I know he gets under most peoples skin because he uses such "absolutes" in his postings. It's a sign of immaturity, and it is best not to try and reason with the boy. His slavish adherence to "The Grid" is just a one example of his inabilty to either listen to others or to take other points of view as valid. I know how frustrating his little rants are, but maybe we can think of him as being our own little grid-nazi. It makes him more appealing, like a little chatty-cathy doll, pull his string and you get, "grid,grid,grid" "you people are idiots", "I am urban-planning god". All hail, grid-nazi. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 441 Registered: 10-2006 |
Well, Gnome, I'm a U-M grad from a while ago, and have high standards for my alma mater. I always thought U-M could do better at educating and they should know this. Obviously, since the "Bucky/Sparty Detroit Zoo Alumni Fiasco" (as I like to call it) the place has gone downhill. (Message edited by dds on November 02, 2007) | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1310 Registered: 10-2003 |
i'm not sure if there's some confusion to what i was talking about so, just in case, i'll clarify: an easement is a zone that prohibits anything being built over it. this is done to protect and service utilities underneath the ground. in most cases, utilities are built in the streets or alleys. when these streets or alleys are closed or turned into parks (like lafayette), they become easements if those utilities have not been moved. in lafayette park's case, they did not remove the utilities and therefore the easements. all of the development (townhomes, towers, school, shopping center, etc.) were all built avoiding these easements and, in a sense, corresponding to the old street grid. in other words, while the surface no longer resembles the original street grid, what's underneath the ground still does. [a great example of this is the steam tunnel that runs underneath the park; in the winter there is usually a straight line of green grass cutting thru the snow.] for those who think it's a good idea to return lafayette park [LP] back to a street grid: keep in mind that this was a reaction to the utter FAILURE of that system in this area. at the time LP was a reaction to the blight and abandonment of this whole area. it had taken less than 50 years for this area to be developed and empty back out again. LP is still going strong and only getting better after 50 years. in essence, it would take something that is very successful and returning back to something that was a proven failure (in the long run), which is asinine. also keep in mind that per residents in this area it is more dense now than when there were homes occupying the site. a really great book to get more information about the development, try this: http://www.amazon.com/Case-Laf ayette-Park-Detroit-CASE/dp/37 91330446/ref=sr_1_1/104-007502 5-1403970?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid= 1194031369&sr=1-1 only $23 and is a great resource. great pictures too... | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3914 Registered: 02-2005 |
WTF are you talking about Dds? You can quote me from a past thread (the outcome of which was me being beaten into submission and admitting the very reasonable fact that LP should not change if people there love it), but this thread is about the story of this strip mall/supermarket. Right now I think it would be a good idea to build something more befitting of a central city neighborhood on that plot, and leave the much-beloved residential sections of LP alone. I've always thought that UM alums from preceeding generations-- especially the ones that stay in the state of Michigan-- are generally speaking some of the stodgiest, unimaginative people around. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3915 Registered: 02-2005 |
The history is fascinating, Rsa. The lower east side/black bottom was miserable and overcrowded; when the opportunity to rebuild the area came after the wholesale destruction of the area by government intervention, everyone wanted a product that was the opposite of what was there before. That's what they got. The people who want to turn to ad hominem attacks (a sure marker of insecure argumentation) and attempt to destroy my arguments need to remember that one of the primary purposes of this forum is to share opinions. Here we are once again talking about personal preferences, but certain people are giving me way too much credit. None of us, unless we are high up in government or land developers, really have a say. I sure don't, yet. So if you get some kicks out of picking apart my arguments and making fun of me, I guess I can't stop you in your immaturity. Just know this: I sure as hell won't insert an ad hominem attack in an otherwise thoughtful discussion. Apparently some of you can't resist. I don't know why anyone would waste so much time trying to hurt credibility that I have not claimed to have. I can't imagine how tough it is for Danindc. He says something reasonable, but for some people, it could never be reasonable just because he lives in DC. So, let's proceed with discussions that are on topic. Besides, we all know that if this was face to face, we wouldn't be so brutal to each other. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1312 Registered: 10-2003 |
i agree mackinaw; the history of that area is particularly interesting. particularly the fact that the area that lafayette park went into was already fairly abandoned and vacant. it seems that, IMO, it was the true sense of the meaning of urban redevelopment, rather than the typical negative use of the words when corresponding to the "projects." not many people were displaced for this development, nor were they forced to live in the development afterwards. in fact, at the risk of associating this project with gentrification, it completely transformed the area into something completely different. in fact, for a while, it was considered quite the place to be and a revolution in style of living, at the same time providing many amenities people were seeking. and to do this in an urban context while maintaining density is quite impressive. also interesting is that this model was the aspiration of many planners and architects (eg. lecorbusier, frank lloyd wright, yamasaki, etc.). such to the extent that this model was tried in many cities across the world. what is exemplary about LP is that it is the most successful. so much so that it is now hard to find another example because they have all been torn down (a notable example is yamasaki's pruit igo development). many fell victim due to the lack of what is the strengths of LP: variety in housing types (both type of residence and ownership), distance from city center, and a commercial aspect. this led to an isolation that often resulted in havens for crime; which ultimately led to a poor reputation, abandonment, and demolition. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 442 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: I spent years after U-M outside of Michigan before I returned. What I found out was that the typical U-M "Here's what's right, like it or lump it, let's build shanties on the Diag" attitude doesn't fly in the real world. Statements like "people should know better" and your above quote are as much argumentum ad hominem as anything I've posted today. Rsa: Everything I've read about Black Bottom has not said anything about it being abandoned or vacant before the LP urban renewal project, so if anyone out there has any access to some population stats of the area pre & post LP, that would be interesting to see (I've searched the archives and internet, and come up short). | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1315 Registered: 10-2003 |
dds; i'm not talking about about the entire black bottom area, only the area of lafayette park-roughly an area of 3 blocks by seven blocks. this area was fairly sequestered in by the rail spur to the east, stroh's beer and ice cream plants and gratiot to the north, the warehouses to the south, and downtown to the west (particularly some light manufacturing and the steam plant). to further separate, segregate, and decimate this area was the destruction of the neighborhoods linking this area to downtown for I-375. [coincidence that most expressway routes were planned thru "minority" neighborhoods?] the LP development came after this area had been further cut off and declining. it should also be noted that the area earmarked for the expressway was widened for condemnation to provide space for the new "university city" that was going in. this extra space was used for what would become WSU medical school and clinic (now vacant shapero hall and the woodward academy). this development was planned to become larger, hopefully with UDM expanding their downtown campus and providing a link between the two. of course, this never happened and WSU is now solely back in midtown (detroit campus at least). [which further isolated the area.] we also have ot look at the city's desire to relieve traffic. the thought was by expanding some streets into wide boulevards and eliminating some small thoroughfares would alleviate much of the gridlock that was happening in the city at the time. this also corresponded to the city beautiful movement mantra that was quite popular at the time. this also had a detrimental (ne isolationist) effect on many smaller neighborhoods in the city. to sum up, this area of black bottom was isolated to the point where is was choked off and abandoned. by the time LP was realized, much had already been vacated and abandoned. now i'm not saying completely vacated; i do realize there were some people that desired to stay. but this was not on par with say poletown or the jeffries. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 445 Registered: 10-2006 |
Interesting. I'll have to take a field trip to DPL and read up on more than is available online. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3919 Registered: 02-2005 |
dds, notice when my statement about UM alums kicked in... after your not-so-thinly veiled rip on a particular UM student. Prior to that, you may not have agreed with me, but I did not make an attack on you or interrogate your preferences as you and a few others love to do with me. | ||
Miesfan Member Username: Miesfan Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2007 |
I moved to Lafayette Towers about 15 months ago after living in New York for several years. There a few other places in Detroit I would want to live other than Lafayette Park. LP isn't "urban" in the traditional sense but Detroit isn't a traditional urban city. This is a car town. I'm grateful for Lafayette Park because it is a humane response to the car culture. In many respects Lafayette Park (strip mall included) function more like a real big city neighborhood than other parts of Detroit. I know my neighbors on my floor and they know me. However we don't know each others business. I've visited other places in Detroit that behave more like small towns than big-city neighborhoods. My NYC friends would be far more comfortable with the social dynamic at Lafayette Park than downtown, West Village, or Corktown On mornings when I have time, I can walk to Paris Cafe for breakfast. LP can both social and anonymous at the same time just like a big city neighborhood should be. Braying ideologues who complain about the Lafayette Park strip mall fail to understand the value it provides to Lafayette Park residents. Would my quality of life improve if the building was moved to the curb? No. Would my coffee at Paris Cafe taster better? No. Would Mackinaw's quality of life improve? No. It's a silly argument. Detroit could use a healthy dose of pragmatism. Mackinaw strikes me as some dreary dorm room ideologue who read Jane Jacobs and wants to play Robert Moses, with a new urbanist twist. I'm tired of strident 22-year-olds telling me how they can live in Detroit without a car, how they never have to leave the central business district but for an occasional dinner at the Majestic. I'm bored by naive easy solutions for difficult and complex problems. It's really a waste of time and energy. It speaks to the ineffectiveness of self-described Detroit lovers and urbanists in this town. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3921 Registered: 02-2005 |
"It speaks to the ineffectiveness of self-described Detroit lovers and urbanists in this town." First of all, how? Second of all, what does all this have to do with the merit of the design of that strip mall? Oh wait, your screenname is Miesfan, I can answer that. What do you mean by: "a humane response to car culture?" Funny how your mentioned that right after saying that LP functions like a real urban neighborhood." I'd say the picture you paint, which ostensibly mocks downtown/midtown residents (and the fact that they can work/live/go out in their own neighborhood), is you "wasting time and energy" trying to tell people who are finally re-implementing traditional urban living this city that they are wrong.? Are ideas like that too cliche for you after living in NYC? Is it bad for people in other cities to want to enjoy what you used to have but are now forgoing because you got sick of it and want a city where you can drive yourself around? This debate certainly "speaks to ineffectiveness." Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you may have lurked for awhile. I'm glad you refrained from personal attacks in your first post... | ||
Miesfan Member Username: Miesfan Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2007 |
Actually I said big city neighborhood. No one would ever confuse Lafayette Park with an urbanism. But socially LP functions like a big-city neighborhood. I have friends who live in other parts of town and to hear the neighborhood gossip from midtown, for example, reminds me more of small town sociology than a big city neighborhood. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3922 Registered: 02-2005 |
That's an interesting take on things. | ||
Gianni Member Username: Gianni Post Number: 321 Registered: 05-2004 |
A little history. There used to be a two story bank building on the west end of the parking lot. It was nothing much to look at but it did limit the expanse of parking lot, which was mostly for the Spartan/Lafayette Market. It also created kind of a courtyard atmosphere between it and the current structures in that corner. After the bank closed, the video store moved in there. I can't recall (is it just me or do human memory banks have very short term storage for mental images of buildings that are demolished?)if the video store moved to its current spot before the building was torn down as part of the redo of the center, or before. There also used to be a little gourmet food/cheese/deli in there. There was Richards Drugs approximately where the dollar store is. They were the neighborhood pharmacists, very friendly, and even sold decent wine. On the corner of that part of the building in part of the space where Intus is, was a vacant boarded up space that had been that way for many many years. It used to be a bar or club of some kind called Chateau Orleans or something like that. There once was a Haagen Dazs ice cream store in the spot where Labor Ready is now. Later those spaces were used for many years as temporary space for local Democratic Party groups every election cycle. There once was a dry cleaner where Paris Cafe is, then some kind of hack doctor's office (hand surgeon?) where I swear I never saw any patients go in or out. My wife went in there one time asking for donations for the Chrysler School Playground (every other business in the center pitched in) and they were very rude, kicked her out and threatened to call the cops. There was a breakfast place type restaurant approximately where the Thai restaurant is now. The grocery store was pretty bad, but very convenient. I think they actually moved into the grocery store near the library a few blocks east when Farmer Jack closed. I do not recall that Habitat was subsidizing the rents. I do recall that one day they announced that they would be terminating all the leases which had been month to month for years. They had no plan, they just wanted to tear it down. There was some vague talk about replacing it with some type of residential. They had not put any money into maintenance for years and there were structural problems that could no longer be ignored. Rather than invest in the place they just wanted to tear it down. That's what I remember. The neighborhood groups mobilized, led mostly by Riverfront East Alliance (REAL), and eventually got the city to designate a Mies Van der Rohe Historic District that included the shopping center. That meant Habitat couldn't tear it down. Then they negotiated and got a lot more reasonable, and eventually sold it to the developer who did the current redo. They have been trying to get a grocery store in there since the renovation was completed several years ago. I don't believe the shopping center was designed by Mies. Someone said it was done in the "Mies style." It certainly does not have the elegant touches and attention to detail that can be seen in the Towers or the cooperative townhouses and courthouses. I'm not sure of the exact history as to when the center went in, but it was fairly early. I think Chrysler School went in around 1963 which is about the same time as the shopping center. The school is still attractive. I have to agree with Mackinaw that from an aesthetic standpoint the shopping center could have been a lot nicer, but that's what we got. But from a neighborhood, social and practical standpoint it is really wonderful having it here. We could probably do without the wig shop, dollar store and day labor center. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the grocery store. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3924 Registered: 02-2005 |
THANKS for the info. Should a building not designed by Mies be part of the Mies Historic District? Did you mean that, after the negotiations, the developer was alloted only the option to renovate (not tear down), or did they opt to renovate over tear down on their own? | ||
Gianni Member Username: Gianni Post Number: 322 Registered: 05-2004 |
The historic district covers roughly all the buildings and complexes bordering on the park north of Lafayette. Most of these were not designed by Mies, but the original plan was that basically everything west of Orleans and East of Rivard all the way to Jefferson was supposed to be part of the Mies/Caldwell/Hilberseimer project. The developer, Herbert Greenwald died in a plane crash around 1960, after the Pavillion, the two Lafayette Towers, and as what was to be the first phase of the the Townhouse/Courthouse developments, on Nicolet and Joliet, were just being finished. After that everything else was done piecemeal. I believe that is the "historic" rationale for including everything in this perimeter in the historic district, but I also believe that the political agenda, which basically everyone in the neighborhood supported, was to stop the shopping center from being razed with no plan to replace it. It was felt that a renovated center was the best practical option even though a new developer had not yet surfaced. I don't think either the old or new developer had an option to to tear down after the historic designation. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5646 Registered: 08-2004 |
Mackinaw & Dds, I can't remember which DetroitYes thread I saw it in, but someone posted an aerial shot of the street grid plan of that area before Lafayette Park was built. And it sure did look desolate. It was very reminiscent of the lower east side between Conner & Alter, with many of houses torn down. It didn't look at all like a dense housing area such as Corktown. | ||
Miesfan Member Username: Miesfan Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2007 |
quote: I would agree except that I actually find the dollar store useful for things like paper towel and similar items. As for beauty store, my feeling is that I don't need every business to cater to my needs. It's not like a ghetto liquor store with condoms and blunts displayed behind a plexiglass counter. You want urban retail, check out the liquor stores on Cass and tell me that's better than the LP shopping center. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3927 Registered: 02-2005 |
Gistok, I really want to read up on the history, but I'd guess that if you looked at the same photo 10 years prior to LP, in the early 60s, you'd see a different story. Piecemeal slum revival may have been set in motion before the entire neighborhood was leveled. |
