Detroit commercial vacancies

A very interesting article in today's News. They look at all the vacant buildings in our central business district. There are apparently 48 empty buildings in downtown, with numerous more under utilized. The article has a neat map where you can see which buildings are empty (see above).

Here are some highlights:

"Vacant buildings drain the city of potential taxes and workers who pay to park, buy lunches and shop over their lunch hours. The overall image raises further doubts in the minds of outsiders who might otherwise be interested in setting up shop in Detroit. "For downtown Detroit, it really slows down a lot of the progress that was being made," Ball said."

"While there is no official ledger of empty buildings, The Detroit News identified 48 major structures with no outward signs of life in the Central Business District, which covers about 127 blocks. Others have one or two remaining tenants. "

"Vacancies downtown are only a small part of the story: According to the U.S. Postal Service, there are 62,000 uninhabited buildings and vacant lots throughout Detroit. Entire blocks of commercial and residential property are deserted. "

"Meanwhile, the Lafayette is so blighted that the city has been forced to close the sidewalk around it because pieces of the facade are falling off and could harm a vehicle or pedestrian. Inside, floors are caving in, city officials said, and trees have grown on the water-damaged roof. "