This Morning, I woke up at about 6AM and drove to Indiana Sand Dunes Park, a lake-front sand area near an Indiana neighborhood. It’s very likely that I was just at the edge of the park and didn’t see the main part. After a half-hour of wasted time, I drove to Ann Arbor, MI, ate lunch, and briefly drove through downtown Ann Arbor, MI, which was another beautiful pedestrian-friendly Downtown area in an otherwise dull area. I need to find a way to capitalize on this downtown revitalization trend. Areas that are now selling for $300/SF may very soon be selling for $1000/SF based on the anticipated high rents that the restaurant/entertainment tenants that are occupying these properties can afford to pay.
Next, I visited the Eastern Market in Detroit. The Eastern Market is a farmers market that is a bright light/happening spot, in an otherwise troubled city. Vendors set up booths, selling anything from plants/flowers, niche foods, or produce. The architecture is stunning and it’s evident that these few blocks are a source of pride for all people living in Detroit. One store across the street from the market specializes in niche foods including nuts, seeds, dried fruits, chocolates, coffees, etc.(http://www.yelp.com/biz/rockys-historic-eastern-market-detroit). They had homemade peanut butter, in flavors including Chocolate Peanut Butter, Salt-Free cashew, and many more flavors!
Afterwards, I went to another Trip-Advisor recommendation, the Detroit Institute of Art Museum. This world class museum is another source of pride for the otherwise declining city of Detroit. The exhibits included Native American, Renaissance Time-period art, Christianity-themed art, Egyptian Art, American Art from many different time periods (including nostalgic art from earlier time periods)
Lastly, I spent the afternoon by walking on the Riverwalk for an hour or two. The Riverwalk passed through Downtown Detroit and the City is currently making an effort of revitalizing the Riverwalk area. Unfortunately, the City still seems to be wasteful by having a parking attendant at the entrance of a parking lot, waiving cars into the Riverwalk parking lot. Why not automate the parking and spending money bringing much-needed jobs to Detroit? Overall, Detroit seems to have plenty of potential in terms of it’s location and culture, but as long as the area doesn’t have jobs or a steady population, the hill will be too steep to climb up.
