B.Arch Thesis: Precedent Study - District Detroit
One of the most recent and on-going urban development projects in the US, District Detroit has the chance to revitalize a suffering downtown. Through its five years of development there have been many of moving parts at play, some have led to positive movement in bringing growth, but other pieces have delayed, slowing the overall development down.
2014 - Present
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Size: 50 blocks
Developer: Olympia Development
Programming: Mixed-use commercial, residential, recreation and educational
Revitalizing an Urban Core
The District Detroit is a long-term redevelopment of a dead area of Detroit, a town looking to re-brand itself after recent turmoil. The site covers 50 blocks of land in the heart of downtown Detroit and is connected to the near by attractions like the Fox Theater, Ford Field and Comerica Park.
A large amount of the land planned for redevelopment is already owned by the company spurring on the development, Olympia Development of Michigan. The plan involves nearly $1.8 billion in economic impact over the life of the initial development and over 9,500 jobs, 8,300 of which would be construction related jobs.23
The project looks to connect existing and new development efforts in downtown and midtown Detroit. This project has been regarded as the catalyst to help reinvigorate the city of Detroit as a whole.
The Program