  Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 551 Registered: 08-2004 |
Maritime school at old boat club site should be debated BY JOHN GALLAGHER • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • June 9, 2008 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20080609/BUS INESS04/806090319 Before Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's idea for a new Maritime Academy on Belle Isle goes any further, Detroiters deserve to have a real public debate about what we want for the island. Advertisement Because even more than the Grand Prix races have done, the Maritime Academy would change Belle Isle in major ways. And it raises the possibility of further dense development of the island, the city's prime recreational space. An architect's rendering for Kilpatrick's proposed Maritime Academy reveals that the plans go far beyond a renovation of the historic Detroit Boat Club building, the centerpiece of the project. Instead, the mayor's proposal envisions building a multiacre complex of classrooms, dormitories, gymnasium, pool and other facilities on Belle Isle's north shore, in effect privatizing an important chunk of the island park. Moreover, new surface parking lots would be created for hundreds of cars, paving over some of the green space in the interior of the island, space now used for recreation. A new academy geared to maritime training may be a worthy idea. But Belle Isle, already the city's most important recreational space, strikes some fans of the island as the wrong place for it. With so many miles of undeveloped or underused shoreline between Windmill Point and Zug Island, surely the city could find a spot not on Belle Isle. "A maritime academy I think is a good idea. Putting it in the old Boat Club on Belle Isle is a bad idea," said Mary Waterstone, a retired judge and president of the nonprofit Friends of Belle Isle society. She added, "This is a park. This is not a college campus. It's ridiculous." State Rep. Marsha Cheeks, the mayor's aunt and a leader of the Maritime Academy effort, offered several counterarguments to support the plan. For one thing, the design team assembled for the project includes the respected architectural firm Gunn Levine of Detroit. One partner there, Francis Resendes, is a leader in school design, and another partner, Edward Francis, is nationally recognized for restoring historic buildings like the Boat Club. Then, too, Cheeks noted that the school wouldn't be in session during the summer, when island usage is most intense. Further, she said, the school's gymnasium, swimming pool and other facilities could be open to the public during the summer. The dormitories might be used as rooms for visitors during the Grand Prix or other events. And a planned restaurant and marina in the old Boat Club would provide public attractions as well as revenue for the school. "I do not see a conflict at all. What I do see is an opportunity," Cheeks told me. Perhaps this proposed development of Belle Isle wouldn't raise as many worries if it wasn't coming hard on the move of the Detroit Grand Prix races back to the island last year. Led by business and civic leader Roger Penske, race organizers created a 10-acre concrete pad near the western end of the island. This pad serves as the paddock area and related uses for the Grand Prix. But during the other 51 weeks of the year, the pad sits there like a vast empty parking lot, in contrast to the island's natural setting. The creation of the Maritime Academy just a short distance from the Grand Prix concrete slab raises inevitable questions: How much more development can the island take? Are private condo towers next? How about a corporate headquarters? And should a school be built in the middle of a public park anyway? Robin Boyle, chair of the department of geography and urban planning at Wayne State University, raised similar concerns when I showed him the architect's rendering. "Just simply looking at the rendering, I would say its scale is a challenge to the natural setting and to the scale of Belle Isle," Boyle told me. "And with what's happened because of the Grand Prix, then add these two together and it starts to make a dent in what the island's about." Clearly, the Maritime Academy would change Belle Isle in major ways. And that aspect of the plan -- what we want and need from our most important public park -- has not been debated. It needs to be, before we go any further. Belle Isle and its millions of visitors deserve that much. | ||
Detroitstar Member Username: Detroitstar Post Number: 1156 Registered: 01-2006 |
I am very torn on this issue. It would mean a major rehab of the current boat club, but would also commercialize a very laid back recreational space. I think this is probably a good thing, but I am happy with Belle Isle the way it is. I would not be upset if this fell through. Is there any reason this could not be located on the main shore? | ||
Lo_to_d Member Username: Lo_to_d Post Number: 84 Registered: 07-2007 |
As a regular user of Belle Isle, I have to say I would much rather see this there than the sad decrepit reminder of Detroit's blight that currently welcomes people to the island. Heck, start a zoology school at the blighted zoo too. As long as the use stays institutional and/or recreational I don't see a problem. The island would be in better shape because of it. | ||
Neilr Member Username: Neilr Post Number: 743 Registered: 06-2005 |
quote: hmmmm... Seeing the words "opportunity" and "Cheeks (Kilpatrick)" in the same sentence gives me pause. | ||
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336 Post Number: 6501 Registered: 02-2007 |
big clue that this is a scam: the "maritime academy" will NOT be open during the prime sailing months - summer yeah, right. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1588 Registered: 01-2005 |
Sounds like it's still going to retain some semblance of a boat club with the slips (available for rent?), bar and restaurant. The development is MUCH larger than I was thinking but to be honest, compared to the vastness of the park (this is a tiny fraction of the island), it's not that big. Well...god that does extend all the way down to the fishing pier.  Still for SF of land use, not much more than that damned parking lot and look how much we bitch about those. I'm leaning towards it. I certainly don't think it's ridiculous like Mary does, and don't buy the whole "what's next condos and headquarters" argument. I'd rather have this than a decrepit, collapsed building. That argument reminds me of the anti-gay marriage one. "If we let them get married then what's next...men marrying goats? girls marrying llamas? Children marrying Dolphins?" I'd rather have a functioning boat club that looks fabulous. We can't afford it people. Still, I'd like to see more renderings. | ||
Fareastsider Member Username: Fareastsider Post Number: 909 Registered: 08-2006 |
That rendering of an addition to the boat club is disgusting. I do not understand additions to structures with a completely different architectural style. I for one am against this proposal. | ||
Rob_in_warren Member Username: Rob_in_warren Post Number: 108 Registered: 11-2007 |
I tend to side with the author's cautious approach to the plan. The boat club should be renovated and used as a classroom, events center, public club/marina, and symbolic HQ for the academy. But it doesn't mean we need to build the entire academy on the island. I think a school in one of the riverfront communities would do a lot more for the city, and not impact the old-time feel of the park. Restoring the Boat Club to the designers original vision and then dropping a huge office building next to it doesn't make any sense to me. Especially when we have plenty of available east-waterfront land in Detroit proper in need of redevelopment. | ||
Stephenvb Member Username: Stephenvb Post Number: 47 Registered: 02-2006 |
The rendering scares me (from an architecture point of view), but the precedence scares me even more. Once occupied, there will (hopefully) be a demand for adjacent development opportunities. The impact will be significant. Can Belle Isle's utilities support this academy or will this lead to sewage treatment facilities or additional electrical infrastructure that will further change the character? I'm opposed until someone can demonstrate a comprehensive plan that includes a realistic impact to the isle and a way to constrain it. Even then, I probably still won't like it... | ||
D_mcc Member Username: D_mcc Post Number: 728 Registered: 12-2007 |
I trust Francis and those at Gunn to develop a program that is beneficial for all. In my experiences with the firm and its people, they only have the UTMOST respect for the city, as well as designing educational spaces. | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1826 Registered: 11-2003 |
Speaking of the Belle Isle Zoo, what are the plans for this? It looks awful. | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1304 Registered: 10-2003 |
This is (ANOTHER) stupid idea for the DBC. Every year or so, they come up with another "big scheme" ala the days of Coleman where there is a lot of big talk...potential lining of politician pockets...and then nothing. Why in the hell would we want to take the dregs of our miserable school system and put them into a dormitory in this beautiful park. (yes, the plan is to house kids who have no chance of success elsewhere). There is an entire riverfront to choose from and they pick the DBC. Why? Because, this govt. has 0 respect for pre-Coleman history in this city. Sign the building over in a long term lease to the rowing club and let them fix it up as they have offered to do now for years. Anything else is a crime. | ||
Awfavre Member Username: Awfavre Post Number: 262 Registered: 08-2005 |
Rb336, I don’t think you understand what they want to do with this maritime academy. The concept is not to sail sailboats & pleasure craft during the summer, but to teach kids to work in the maritime industry. Many shipping companies have internship programs in cooperation with the maritime colleges, & I suspect they’d work out something along the lines of an internship/externship for older students in this maritime academy. The college cadets usually sail on the boats in the summer, when there are a large number of commercial vessels sailing. I suspect it would be the same for any potential internships/externships for the academy on Belle Isle. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 1140 Registered: 11-2003 |
Belle Isle is an underutilized resource. The important Boat Club site is especially underutilized. Incorporating the Boat Club into some kind of viable project that creates an active built environment at that location would be a good thing. Belle Isle's status as primarily parkland would not be fundamentally altered. Also, it's unlikely that this proposal for an educational use of the site will displace some other potential "better" use. If the Boat Club could easily be feasibly adapted to a new use, it would have been done by now. Here is the problem, though. This project appears to be the brainchild of the Kilpatrick family and friends program. Therefore, it is very important to follow the money and see who will get it. Needless to say, the Cheeks-Kilpatrick crowd that presently controls the foundation trying to get the project off the ground is unlikely to be motivated out of philanthropy. They view this ambitious and expensive venture as a gravy train that might provide all kinds of lucrative employment and contracts for their marginally qualified crew. It would be foolhardy for the City to get on board with this project as long as the Mayor's people are controlling the board. The best but highly unlikely solution would be to convince the Gates Foundation to do the project. If the city could do that, the project should be greenlighted even though charter schools in general are bad for Detroit. Here's another article about the project. One of the more succinct quotes since the Mayoral Mess began is near the end in bold. Maritime academy seems a sound idea BY ROCHELLE RILEY • FREE PRESS • May 15, 2008 A foundation of community leaders has begun raising funds for Michigan's only public residential high school -- a proposed $30-million to $45-million maritime academy on Belle Isle that would be open to students from across Michigan and would focus on aquatic, maritime and nautical sciences. The 500-student school, which Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced in his State of the City address March 11, would be housed in the crumbling Detroit Boat Club and an adjacent new building. The complex also would include dormitories, a restaurant and the only diesel engine repair shop in the Great Lakes region east of Chicago. It could become home and school to students who are not at-risk, but past-risk, children who need structure and innovation. The school would cost students and the city nothing. Some of the foundation's seven board members presented a preliminary plan and architectural rendering last week to a City Council committee that analyzes environmental issues of new projects. The plan calls for the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority to help finance construction by issuing bonds for the school. The foundation already has received a $160,000 grant from the state to help develop the complex, which would open in 2010. But the school does face hurdles between idea and existence. The foundation will be raising money for a new school at a time when the school district is closing schools and losing money. And the foundation board's composition is sure to raise questions: Two of the seven members are related to the mayor, who is fighting felony perjury and obstruction charges connected to the settlement of a police whistle-blower lawsuit. They are state Rep. Marsha Cheeks and Kilpatrick's cousin and city employee Patricia Peoples. The board president is Dr. Anita Moncrease, a pediatrician and associate professor at Wayne State University. A speaker at Tuesday's meeting where the council voted to oust the mayor called the school another friends and family scheme and one more reason why the mayor should go. It would be a shame if that unproven introduction hurts the school because it is a really good idea. The Admiral J. Paul Reason Michigan Maritime Academy (named for the first and only African-American four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy) would "take advantage of our location here near the Great Lakes and give young people an opportunity to learn math and science concepts in an environment that could lead to employment in shipping, logistics and other pursuits," said Reggie Turner, a Detroit attorney and state education board member who is helping pro bono with planning the school. But the fund-raising foundation's makeup could hurt efforts to make it happen. "Either the mayor still believes he can achieve his policy goals -- which is kind of crazy because he taints the projects he touches and he doesn't have the support of the council -- or he enjoys the intrinsic perks of the office so much that he isn't all that concerned about accomplishing much more in terms of policy," said University of Michigan political science professor Ken Kollman. He compared current times to those experienced by President Richard Nixon, who couldn't get a negative income tax passed after he was threatened with impeachment. "I don't think what's happening with the mayor will hurt the school," said Cheeks. "I hope not. But if it does, I hope people can see beyond anything that's happening and see that our children's future is at stake." If the Belle Isle maritime academy is hurt by the mayor's naiveté or residents' mistrust of him, it would be a shame -- because this project appears to have worth. "Anything we can do to provide educational options and life options and skills for our children, for our next generation of leaders, will be a positive thing," Cheeks said. "If we don't provide the kind of educational options that our children need, then they will have no choices and options but to go where they're going -- the Department of Corrections." | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 2459 Registered: 07-2004 |
I'm just gonna say it: Screw their plans. I'm sick to death of people making a deal whereby a wonderful old building will be saved, as long as it will: 1) Not be used for its original purpose 2) Not be as accessible 3) Be joined with a brand-new "campus" that will take over a lot of land 4) Involve laying down lots of concrete for new parking areas 5) Not increase the quality of life for the city of Detroit It's like somebody offering to save a historic building by razing the neighborhood around it and never letting me near it again. Sigh. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1589 Registered: 01-2005 |
Swingline I think I completely agree with you. I think the fact that the campus extends so far is what REALLY freaks people out, but on the whole it's not that much. Also, I don't believe it's fair to say we're dragging the dregs of the detroit schools system and putting here. I believe it will be open enrollment for anyone wanting this type of vocational training (vocational too harsh here you get the drift). Besides...I don't know what you all are complaining about. This is nothing compared to the proposal for the Belle Isle Welcome Center, poised to maximize commanding views of the Detroit skyline.  | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 2468 Registered: 07-2004 |
Oh, Quinn! Tell me you're joking! | ||
Mbr Member Username: Mbr Post Number: 400 Registered: 03-2005 |
What is Marsha Cheeks thinking when she says a marina will be a revenue stream for the development? Has she been to Henderson Marina? Does she know that the marina at Maheras Park is closed? The city needs to fill boat slips it has, not build new ones. Boat slips here will surely be a losing proposition for the city. | ||
Mschievous Member Username: Mschievous Post Number: 94 Registered: 04-2008 |
Wasn't Grayhaven Marina city-owned? It's closed!! Wasn't St. Aubin Marina (now Tri Centennial) city-run? They managed to screw that up somehow. Now they want a stab at another one? I smell fish... | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 6979 Registered: 08-2004 |
As much as I want to see the Boat Club restored, I hate the thought of a monstrosity built next to it. That monstrosity would go all the way to Inselruhe Ave. (Inselruhe is German for "Island tranquility). So much for that name! Dormatories? Let the folks sleep on the mainland. I don't like the idea of the park being closed at night to the general public (is it still closed at night?) and these folks staying in the dormatories having the run of the island at night. I bet Fredrick Law Olmstead would be rolling over in his grave if he saw this scheme. And I too don't trust anything with a "Cheeks" or a "Kilpatrick" name on it. | ||
Vas Member Username: Vas Post Number: 906 Registered: 01-2004 |
I'm for the school but make it about education. I can't imagine it being some 4 year university and thus needing all these other amenities. The public has all these options in the city, its doesn't need to be brought into a nature focused area. Keep a school congenial to the island and being on the water. Quiet, smooth and focused. | ||
Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster Post Number: 176 Registered: 12-2006 |
Very well put, Vas. If you can do this with a respect for the surroundings and the existing beauty of this Island, then go for it. With all due respect to Mr. Penske, for 50 weeks of the year all that concrete is obnoxious. | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1305 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Also, it's unlikely that this proposal for an educational use of the site will displace some other potential "better" use. If the Boat Club could easily be feasibly adapted to a new use, it would have been done by now." Really? Do you know how many projects have not happened in this city because the city has put ridiculous impediments in the way or some top politician would rather get their pocket lined than let a legitimate project through? There is a reason our city is filled with vacant land while other cities have gone through significant growth and development. You want a school? Put it on the water between Alter and Gabriel Richard park or between the Joe and the Ambassador Bridge...or better yet, below the bridge. Then sign a long term lease with the rowers and let them get the club house fixed up. Its not rocket science. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1590 Registered: 01-2005 |
Do the rowers have enough money to complete renovation of the boat club? How much would THAT cost? | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1306 Registered: 10-2003 |
Quinn, There are some very deep pocket guys that have said for well over 5 years that they would put the money in to rehab the place if they get a long term lease on the place. They won't throw good money after bad just to find out that their $ was spent on upgrading the facility for the latest schemer to come steal it away. As I understand it, there is a contingent in the club that is growing tired of the development of the month crowd in the city govt. and is now pushing to ditch the boat club facility to build a new facility elsewhere. They have the money to do that as well. Bets are that if they do that, the building disappears. I don't know the $$ amounts involved. There are some members of the rowing team that use this site. They might share that. | ||
Gianni Member Username: Gianni Post Number: 384 Registered: 05-2004 |
At least put the parking on the Gran Prix paddock and have a shuttle (or walk a little!). That could cut down the footprint they need. And the Gran Prix is not scheduled during the school year. | ||
Rob_in_warren Member Username: Rob_in_warren Post Number: 109 Registered: 11-2007 |
If the entire project is $30-45M, how much can be reasonably spent on renovating one building? Are we gonna get a patch job and an "up-to-code restoration", or are they going to do the Club justice? The Boat Club should be an asset for the island, not for a school to be built on the island. If Cheeks thinks the club's gonna be a money maker she should let the city fund the restoration separately. If the school is a good idea it won't need the revenue from a bar and grille to survive. | ||
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313 Post Number: 668 Registered: 02-2006 |
That is absolutely ridiculous! KK....What are you thinking? With all the mainland downstream needing to be developed you choose the park? That's so assinine and backwards! Just like relocating the Detroit Police Department to the MCS. (Moving from one old building to another old building). Whose gonna renovate and build the new school? Bobby Ferguson? As of now, anything the mayor touches, corruption seems to follow close by.... <313> | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1591 Registered: 01-2005 |
Irish Mafia that is AWESOME. Can you share the proposal they've made to the city and cite dollars, plans? I'm totally for it just wondering why these rich guys in the club haven't posted such a proposal/presentation on here. Did it just get lost in the city? THANKS! Looking forward to seeing it, and maybe we can all pressure the city to accept that proposal! | ||
Evelyn Member Username: Evelyn Post Number: 297 Registered: 02-2005 |
Sectioning off a big chuck of a public island for private use is a lousy idea. Besides, aren't there still large swaths of land by the river that could be developed? Why not put the school there? | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1309 Registered: 10-2003 |
Again Quinn, I am not in the rowing group. I believe that most of these folks that have brought the proposal forward tend to work quietly in the background which, often works in developments that I have seen elsewhere. It certainly hasn't brought the desired results here (not since the Archer administration anyways. He was favorable toward the island and helped the oarsmen get a new furnace and some other resources for the building I believe). I don't know if any of the rowers that monitor this site would be willing to share the specifics or not. | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 2476 Registered: 07-2004 |
I think that story represents how much of an obstacle the current administration has been. If true, it shows an arrogance: They would rather take over the site for their gleaming, multimillion-dollar scheme than aid a small group seeking only a little help to use the building for its original purpose. Bad, bad, bad. | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 552 Registered: 08-2004 |
From what I understand, they are looking to be attached to a historic site so that they can get tax credits for the restoration. That's the only reason they are interested in the boat club. I'm sure they will try to skim some of that money to fund the new construction. They wanted the armory but the city already had a deal in the mix for it. There are too many hoops to jump through on a State or National level to even consider Ft Wayne. The biggest problem I see is what happens to the land if the school fails? This group still owns it. Don't think that they won't try develop it commercially at that point. On can only hope that should this happen, the land is only leased, and it returns to the city under certain circumstances, or the city enforces some sort of zoning requirements. | ||
Plymouthres Member Username: Plymouthres Post Number: 595 Registered: 02-2007 |
Leland- Where are you getting your info from about Fort Wayne? I can assure you that usage is not the issue with the Fort, as there are deed restrictions on only four of the buildings there. Very shortly, you will see some of the buildings at the Fort undergoing major rehabilitations. There are a couple of groups that will be stepping up and using their own monies to rehab those structures. One group is the DAV and the other a group called Trilicorp. There is one fellow that I know, an occasional poster here, who has dumped $20,000 into a structure there now, and has cleaned up another structure. He has signed letters of intent with the Rec Dept to continue until finished with the rehabs. Fort Wayne, though, is not a prime place for this venture to take place as there are no commensurate "Historic Credits" available there. If there were, we would have tapped them already, believe me! | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1311 Registered: 10-2003 |
Leland, Wouldn't that old warehouse type building (next to Tri-centenial State Park that they are trying to save) accomplish the same thing? They also already have a harbor there | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1592 Registered: 01-2005 |
Irish...I just don't get why the city wouldn't take the rowing club up on a proposal. Anyone here know anything about this proposal? | ||
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd Post Number: 2478 Registered: 07-2004 |
I would guess "the administration" asked its usual first question: "What's in it for me?" | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 553 Registered: 08-2004 |
Plymouthres- I'm not familiar with the deed restrictions at Ft. Wayne. I think that Mildred and Mary Waterstone just assumed that supporters of the project thought it would be a lot easier to steam roll the Friends of Belle Isle than the State and Feds. I don't know how seriously they were considering the location. Irish- As far as I know, the lease has already been signed transferring the additional land for the Tri-Centennial Park to the State. I'm not sure if the land North of Atwater is still a part of that or not. At one point the GTC building was to be a part of the park to be used as a visitor center. The last I heard the building was going to be redeveloped by Mark Wilcox (Rinnell Place Lofts and the Carola Building) as condos. That was in October 2006, so who knows. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 1030 Registered: 01-2005 |
I think that the city is not interested in the Rowing Club because it's members are white people. The man who had a (I think ridiculous) idea to build the tramway across the River is white and he was pretty much told by this administration to take on a Black partner. So he did - or tried to but he was then told by the (Administration-selected Black partner) that what was commonly and successfully done was to offer the Black partner a major stake for no monetary investment. At that the Canadian drew the line. He didn't want a partner in the first place and then he really didn't want a partner who would get a piece of teh company for free. But that's how it's done here, he was told - or so he said. | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1312 Registered: 10-2003 |
Now if that were the the true story, would anybody be surprised? | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 6985 Registered: 08-2004 |
An untold part of that story is that the Tram guy wanted to have the Canadian end of the tram at Casino Windsor. There was no way the 3 Detroit Casinos were going to support that idea, and they probably let the city know... i.e. fewer dollars going to Detroit casinos means few dollars going to Detroit. As for this hairbrained scheme about building a campus on Belle Isle... I say this... let them take over the St. John Riverview Hospital that is closing (it's right by the bridge to Belle Isle, and I'm sure St. John would sell it to them cheaper than building anew on Belle Isle). Put the dormitories and other services in that complex, and have a regular shuttle bus going to/from the classrooms on Belle Isle. That should make everyone happy. | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 554 Registered: 07-2007 |
Once you open the door to privatizing portions of your public parks, forget about it. It will get nibbled to death, each time saying "it's only a small piece" until there's nothing left. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1593 Registered: 01-2005 |
Southwestmap...that is THE most ignorant thing I've ever heard. But lets look at your argument for one quick second. Um...let's see...oohhh...THAT'S RIGHT. News Flash Penske is White! OMG! Call channel 7. That guy who wants the tramway has been trying that out for 30 YEARS. You're saying it's because he's white. Ya right. Geesh! | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1594 Registered: 01-2005 |
I just actually made up my mind about this proposal. I'm against it as it stands. Really I like the concept, just not the scale. A maritime academy with one, contextual architectural addition is acceptable in my book. This campus is just too big. I just realized that driving over the belle isle bridge and seeing a "campus" full of buildings would ruin the feeling of a park. The shear mass of buildings that extend east towards the center of the island is just too much. Having said that, I think a compromise of a smaller academy might (MIGHT) work. | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 1396 Registered: 07-2007 |
What a perfect way to screw up Belle Isle. Get Ferguson to Demo it, have him pay off the people who gave him the contract. Kids living on Belle Isle? You've got to be kidding. This is about the biggest joke thats been spewed from his lips. Why not just sell the island to developers for condos and pay off Detroit's debt, that they cannot account for. (I'm joking for those who cannot tell) | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 1031 Registered: 01-2005 |
Quinn: I saw the complaint letter that the guy wrote. He named the KK friend in the letter - an attorney downtown who lived on Bob-lo Island. It may not be true but it was pretty detailed and rang true. As to the Canadian trying to build a tramway for thirty years - that is really not true. The Canadain's plan was just the LATEST such plan. He is not the same guy from 30 years ago. And he started proposing his idea when KK was in office. | ||
Oladub Member Username: Oladub Post Number: 309 Registered: 08-2006 |
What maritime industry? The US maritime fleet cannot compete with Chinese and Panamanian flag labor rates. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1596 Registered: 01-2005 |
Southwest, are you talking about EO 14? There are limitations on bids and proposals for work in the city regarding minority ownership/partnership...and that is mandated by law. EO 14 was from Dennis Archer BTW | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 1032 Registered: 01-2005 |
I understand that the Canadian was willing to take on a minority partner in the business. He assumed that the minority partner, an attorney with nice digs on Bob-Lo Island, would buy into the deal - put some cash into the company. Silly of the Canadian. He was told that the minority partner should get a piece of the business without paying anything. Is that what EO14 means? | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 1043 Registered: 01-2005 |
So, Quinn: did you see this note in yesterday's Free Press story on the crook who has a minority stake (30%) in Synagro - did you see that they had to GIVE it to him in order to do the development? You said it was "ludicrous" to suggest that the Administration is forcing developers to GIVE AWAY significant parts of their companies to the Mayor's friends in order to do business here. This suggests that its true: " Rayford Jackson, a Detroit developer whom agents have inquired about, was hired to consult for Synagro on the project. Published reports have said Jackson's company, RAS Development, received a 30% share of the deal to boost the participation of Detroiters in the project." Looks like the Gondola Guy was telling the truth, setting off an alarm that everybody ignored. | ||
W_chicago Member Username: W_chicago Post Number: 41 Registered: 01-2008 |
This is so sad. Why can't this school just be built across the river? There is so much empty land there. I defiantly oppose this project. I do not, however oppose renovated buildings on the Island such as the Boat Club. And revamping/reopening things such as the Aquarium and the Zoo. A school with classrooms and dorms and parking lots would ruin the park. Its insane. Save Belle Isle!•• | ||
Kiplinger Member Username: Kiplinger Post Number: 53 Registered: 06-2006 |
I think we all agree that something must be done with the Boat Club site. I agree that privatizing part of the island is a bad idea and if there is a proposal for a maritime school there are plenty of locations available that make more sense. I'd like to see an aquarium in the city. That may not be the best place but we are really missing out on that time of offering in the city. PS - A little sick of race always creeping its way into every single post. Realizing that sometimes its relevant but not all of the time. | ||
Billybbrew Member Username: Billybbrew Post Number: 316 Registered: 07-2005 |
Are we all forgetting that there is already a Maritime Academy called GREAT LAKES MARITIME ACADEMY in Traverse City? In fact, there are only a handful of legit Maritime Academies around the US. Not sure about how many training schools there are, but they are not "Maritime Academies" Perhaps someone should ask about GLMA's incoming class vs. graduating class statistics. They take in about 100 cadets a year and graduate about 15. In my opinion the last thing Michigan or Detroit needs is another Maritime Academy, especially one in our PARK, Belle Isle. |
