Sunday, July 31, 2011

Good news - Somerset in the City!

As usual, there has been a lot of exciting news in the City in recent weeks, from the Federal government's support of Mayor Bing's neighborhood initiatives, to new incentives by employers to encourage workers to live in Detroit. What I find possibly most encouraging and exciting is the opening of a mini-Somerset mall at 1441 Woodward: http://www.freep.com/article/20110729/NEWS01/107290417/With-video-CityLoft-shops-hit-opening-day
People come visit Somerset from other states and countries (Canada, but still), so having a mini-Somerset in the City will certainly provide a great option to residents, and it may even pull some people to shop downtown (which is how most cities with normally functioning downtowns seem to operate)
When combined with the likely investments by Meijer, Whole Foods, and others, this will be a major help to solve a major problem the City has had in terms of quality of life - shopping.
Now, all we need is some other anchor type stores without a major presence in Michigan to setup shop nearby, and Detroit could have a great retail pull, just like that. Maybe Zara, the Cheesecake Factory, a Lego Store, or similar names could be offered free rent for a decade to help be that draw. Certainly, the City has some empty properties to hand out temporarily...