  Amgasper01 Member Username: Amgasper01 Post Number: 74 Registered: 02-2008 |
Does anyone have information on what exactly the city plans to do with Capital Park once the new Transit Center opens? I'd assume it's destined to become a greenspace, but I've never seen any real plans. | ||
Rjlj Member Username: Rjlj Post Number: 653 Registered: 11-2003 |
Capitol Park | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 2258 Registered: 05-2005 |
hopefully a hose down is on the to-do list | ||
French777 Member Username: French777 Post Number: 554 Registered: 10-2006 |
Wait is that the park with the fish head sculpture? | ||
Udmphikapbob Member Username: Udmphikapbob Post Number: 633 Registered: 07-2004 |
Man, I don't know, but the other night my wife and I walked through after a Tiger game and the bar, and I felt afterwards like that had been a poor decision. We had parked at the Trolley Plaza garage, and were headed that way from Coaches Corner, but had to make a detour to the Charter One ATM on Campus Martius for cash. | ||
Detroitduo Member Username: Detroitduo Post Number: 966 Registered: 06-2005 |
I think they are going to let it rot and then rededicate it as Kwame Kilpatrick Park. Like all things of high potential in the City of Detroit, They will most likely do nothing and then complain that it is falling apart. Honestly, I HOPE the City does nothing with it, because then perhaps some outside forces will swoop in and do something beautiful with it, but that's just a daydream... BEST Dream: City Counsil spends $1000.00 to put up rainbow flags and stage a Summer Gay Street Party, then sit back and let the gays swarm around the area rebuilding it into the newest trendy downtown neighborhood. Honestly, with appropriate beat walking "well trained" policing, it COULD happen. | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 641 Registered: 10-2005 |
Duo- Thanks for the laugh re the rainbow flags. The sad thing is that it probably would work here. Sadder still, a little tolerance and city cooperation has generally worked else where... Chicago comes to mind. Saddest of all though, is that the iron grip of the black church on anything and everything in Detroit will continue and Ferndale will be the closest to a gayborhood this area ever sees. Oh well...me and my disposable income are off to Saugatuck for the long weekend where we are welcome. (Message edited by higgs1634 on August 28, 2008) | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 2784 Registered: 07-2004 |
Udm, I'm not understanding your post. What was a bad idea, the fish head sculpture, the moving of the transit center, or your walk through Capitol Park after the Tiger's game? The question I have is that once Rosa Parks Transit Center opens, will those unsavory characters still hang out in Capitol Park or move over to the transit center? In either case, the outcome is not positive. Patrons of the Book Cadillac, for example, will probably run into these characters often. Now, as long as there are low income and Section 8 residents living in that area, you're going to have people hanging around various focal points in downtown. Griswold is a focal point. It is where the corner party stores are located. As long as they are in the area they're going to attract people of all kinds, the savory and unsavory. I'm not sure if there's anything that you can do about that. If you're low income and living downtown, then you probably don't have a car so you walk to everything and hang out at certain spots like a park. That's no different than if this person lived in a typical Detroit neighborhood. I know that many on this forum want to see Capitol Park returned to greenspace, but I'm not sure if that will solve the problem of the homeless and other unsavory characters from hanging around there. In fact it will probably encourage it. One alternative I have is to close off Capitol Park and use it for a private parking lot for the residents of the Farwell and the other buildings next to the park. Gone will be the park, but also gone will be the unsavory folks. Worse case scenario but a scenario to think about. | ||
Higgs1634 Member Username: Higgs1634 Post Number: 642 Registered: 10-2005 |
^^ Keeping with the theme of parking lots being the highest and best use for any under-utilized flat space in the D. /sarcasm. | ||
Quinn Member Username: Quinn Post Number: 1669 Registered: 01-2005 |
Higgs1634, the city is helping to sponsor a gay home tour September 28th. There's been ALOT of coordination by the city and gay organizations to make this happen (they plan to advertise for it soon here. Will be a LGBT Home Tour). I've always thought, bring in the gays to Capitol Park and let us clean it up. We're looking for a neighborhood for bars, clubs and restaurants anyway. The area has fantastic architecture and scale. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1600 Registered: 12-2006 |
Amen, Quinn. Ferndale made a conscious effort to be gay-friendly and it has made a huge difference IMHO. I know some of the people who were involved with that effort. Capitol Park area, go for it! | ||
Hans57 Member Username: Hans57 Post Number: 319 Registered: 05-2006 |
What's with the market that just opened up in Capitol Park? I haven't had the chance to check out the park for a while. Is it one of those blunt wraps and 40oz kind of places or do they sell real items? What about the Urban Bean Co, how are they faring? | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 7242 Registered: 08-2004 |
French777 and Royce... I had to LOL... I think the "fish head sculpture" that French777 is referring to is actually the "Millenium Bell" (which was commissioned, inaugurated, and rung at the start of the new millenium) in East Grand Circus Park (where Madison Ave. runs into GCP). LOL... now that French777 mentioned it, it certainly does resemble a fish head sculpture, but since I knew it was actually a bell, I always refer to it as the "Millenium Cow Bell"...  | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 5298 Registered: 02-2005 |
Royce: those transit users sure are unsavory. I know what you mean, though, if we're looking at outward appearances and how the regular person perceives those appearances. The move of the bus depot probably will have a major impact, but honestly it will probably just mean less people around on the street. I think an emptier street is a scarier one. The Book-Cadillac guests don't necessarily have to walk through CP, and I'm sure they'll be directed towards CMP and the riverfront by the concierge if they ask where the nice places to hang out are. | ||
Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 1730 Registered: 08-2007 |
For those that don't know, Capital Park is so named because when Detroit was the State Capital, the building was located near that location. old CP development thread: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/89914/97416.html?1175256 391 did a quick search on what was the outcome of the market study, but couldn't find it. | ||
Norwalk Member Username: Norwalk Post Number: 343 Registered: 11-2006 |
Quinn, when your done with Capitol Park pleaaassse come to Hamtramck | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 2123 Registered: 03-2006 |
Urban Bean is doing as good as they want to do, the new stores in Capital Park are ok, one is a 40/blunt wrap store and the one on State is a little better with some food items that aren't chips. I heard that Capital Park was the gay hood at one time. Believe it or not the neighborhood is full of what Danny calls "skinny white kids" I compare it to Melrose Place. | ||
Amgasper01 Member Username: Amgasper01 Post Number: 75 Registered: 02-2008 |
Royce, the idea of turning a park into a parking lot brought a single tear down my left cheek, circa the 1970s Native American pollution commercial. Sad thing is, I can see it happening. The party stores in Capitol Park may not be gourmet grocers, but two of them are open 24 hours, a convenience you can't find anywhere else in the city, including Greektown. A greenspace would make those buildings much more attractive to developers, and there are more than enough parking garages in the surrounding area to accomodate them. The new Book-Cadillac ramp and the Merchants Row parking garage are the two that come to mind. Why is it okay for everyone to bash the idea of a fabricated African Community (Paradise Valley) but fully support the idea of a fabricated gay neighborhood? Wouldn't the two be equally beneficial in terms of redevelopment and increased activity? The only difference I can think of is that a gay community would be privately funded by various business owners and Paradise Valley is relying heavily on tax dollars. | ||
7051 Member Username: 7051 Post Number: 147 Registered: 02-2006 |
You answered your own question with your last sentence. | ||
Detroitduo Member Username: Detroitduo Post Number: 969 Registered: 06-2005 |
Yes, exactly. You answered your own question Amgasper01. Put a small water feature in the middle, surround it with either green grass or flower beds done in french style... That would be awesome. and while I find it encouraging that there is coordination to have a GLB home tour, I am mostly discouraged by the overall actions of the City and City Counsel in general, that I highly doubt any gayborhood would be willingly coordinated, unless of course there is some lining of pockets going on. sorry, I am just a little jaded when it comes to the Counsel. | ||
Crew Member Username: Crew Post Number: 1452 Registered: 02-2004 |
Detduo, you're so cute when you're angry By the way, I recently found that we have some common friends....not surprising with a gay community as small as Detroit's. | ||
Detroitduo Member Username: Detroitduo Post Number: 970 Registered: 06-2005 |
Don't make me scuff my Prada's! :-) We'll have to introduce ourselves at a "Guerilla" event. | ||
Saintme Member Username: Saintme Post Number: 215 Registered: 08-2006 |
What's a "Guerilla" event? |
