  Ericsprague Member Username: Ericsprague Post Number: 4 Registered: 02-2006 |
Asian Village, a multimillion-dollar venture nestled in a building at Beaubien and Atwater, near the Renaissance Center, is set to open sometime this month. Developers hope to have it open in time for the North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public Jan. 13. With an Asian marketplace, upscale restaurant and a Polynesian-Indonesian coffee and teahouse, the concept is meant to connect to local Asian Americans and draw in people from other cultures and backgrounds. Full article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20070102/NEW S05/701020403 -- I would have updated one of the old threads on this, but they all have posting disabled in them. Some of the old threads about this: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/76017/75076.html https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/62684/73859.html https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/76017/84860.html https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/62684/66702.html | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 5368 Registered: 02-2004 |
YAY!!!!! A psuedo Chinatown. I hope it works, What about Africantown? How did it go? | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 468 Registered: 12-2003 |
Considering that Detroit's last major African (Ethiopian) restaurant, The Blue Nile, left for Ferndale about five years ago I'd say it is doing bad. Detroit's problem is that Chitterlings and Greens don't constitute authentic African cuisine. On the corner of Woodward and Manchester though there is a cell phone store that, in addition to its numerous other signs, has one spot indicating that they sell "African Supplies." One can only wonder what this means. The Polish, Egyptian, German, Algerian, and Russian supply stores closed down years ago and this must be one of the last vestiges from the ethnic supply store craze of the late 80's. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2256 Registered: 12-2004 |
The restaurant world map? I think he means the parking structure world map. Asian "Village" really is the coolest parking structure around. | ||
Matt Member Username: Matt Post Number: 1146 Registered: 10-2003 |
Frank's just jealous because Papa Joe's Family Restaurant & Buffet in Warrendale didn't put Detroit on the restaurant world map. Give me a break. Who the hell cares if it's in the ground floor of a parking structure? | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1880 Registered: 11-2004 |
Fnemecek's singing his one-note song about the Asian Village parking structure. It must be Wednesday. | ||
Christos Member Username: Christos Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2006 |
Its too bad they couldn't build the development on the old "Chinatown" or whatever that is on Cass. I would have been nice to see some development in that part of the corridor, and I'm sure WSU and CCS students would have LOVED a sushi joint nearby. | ||
Dabirch Member Username: Dabirch Post Number: 2020 Registered: 06-2004 |
That parking deck is sooo LA... | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4987 Registered: 10-2003 |
What other song is one to sing? It's ground floor retail in a glorified parking structure. There's nothing wrong with that, but call the thing what it is, which is a parking garage with ground floor retail. Any other description is tired and embarrassing hype. We can be glad that downtown is getting new restaurants and such, but we don't have to go along with this "village" description when it is no such thing. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2257 Registered: 12-2004 |
I'm totally jealous. Nice to see you've been checking out the Warrendale blog, though.
Actually, my gripe is that it's on the ground floor of a badly designed parking structure. See my posts on this subject when it came up before.
Actually, Tuesday is my usual day to bitch about parking structures. I surprised you didn't already know that. Anyway, I'm sorry for being a day behind.
Funny, Dabirch. Real funny. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4988 Registered: 10-2003 |
It's hardly a poorly designed parking structure. It may just be a parking structure with ground floor retail, but it's not a bad design, unless you're talking about the setup of the ground floor, and then you may be able to make a half-way decent argument. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2258 Registered: 12-2004 |
Actually, my argument has always been how the ground floor retail relates to the parking structure as a whole. The top level does have some fantastic views. However, have you ever tried accessing the site from any means other than by car? Try it some time and then try telling me that it isn't a badly designed complex. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 4467 Registered: 10-2003 |
No place to hitch a horse? | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4990 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fnemeck, given its location, did you expect them to open it up to the street, better? Any 'improvements' to the layout of the retail would have simply been putting makeup on a pig. (Message edited by lmichigan on January 03, 2007) | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1881 Registered: 11-2004 |
It's a parking structure ... but you want to access it by something other than car (presumably by foot). Well, if you must, how about walking out the doors of the Ren Cen Wintergarden onto the Riverwalk, turning left, and walking one block. Voila! It works, I've done it! And then another time I accessed it through a walkway from the Ren Cen, it was awesome. It's a perfectly fine parking structure, with ground floor retail as demanded by this forum. It's not badly designed, unless you wanted a parking castle or something. It faces the Riverwalk, which is the only place the public would interface with it anyway, given the nature of the streets to the north of it. And a quick note to the literal-minded people who cannot grasp the concept that Asian Village is simply the name for a cluster of related businesses, and not a new Chinatown: please note that Walt Disney World is not a different world, it is our world! They just used "world" to give you the idea that there was a lot of things to experience there. I hope that helps clear things up. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2259 Registered: 12-2004 |
A horse? No, I was talking about a stall for my ostrich.
Yeah, I was actually thinking that since it's built adjacent to the new $140 million RiverWalk, they might actually want to integrate their facility into a walkable environment. Silly me. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2260 Registered: 12-2004 |
I wouldn't want to access the parking structure by any means other than a car, but it would not to venture into the restaurant and/or market that way.
Yes, I've done it, too. My point is that still a pain in the butt because of the small number of doors and their placement. In my opinion, it's a bad design.
I wouldn't call it "awesome". You're still accessing the retail area through the parking area. In my opinion, if you're going to have a facility that is that auto-focused then you may as well do away with dining area and serve everyone in their car.
Exactly. It's a perfectly fine parking structure. If the owners would stop referring to the complex as anything other than a parking structure, I'd shut up about it. It's kind of like the Blue Ugly Tinker Toys (BUTT), which some folks actually had the audacity to refer to as the "Gateway to Detroit". If they simply called it a bridge, I wouldn't have bother commenting on it at all. It's when folks try to make a project into something that it's clearly not that it annoys me. | ||
Matt Member Username: Matt Post Number: 1147 Registered: 10-2003 |
Oh don't flatter yourself, Frank. I'd never read any one of your fifteen blogs. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 4991 Registered: 10-2003 |
Fnemecek, Which is it? Is it poorly designed, or is a great parking structure? You're splitting hairs even more thinly than usual, and this is coming from someone known to split hairs over what many would consider trivial things. I think we generally agree (i.e. stop trying to make it something it's not), but why you want to pick at it even more is beyond me. I guess it would have been better for them to put nothing in the base, at all, and simple made it all for parking? | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2261 Registered: 12-2004 |
And you just happened to pick one of the restaurants that was mentioned repeatedly on the Warrendale blog, but never anywhere else?
It's a great parking structure and a poorly designed restaurant.
It's a hobby. If I wasn't grumbling about architecture, I'd probably be at some bar doing things I'd regret in the morning. | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1882 Registered: 11-2004 |
Instead of staying home doing something we all regret now. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2262 Registered: 12-2004 |
Sticks and stones, Dialh. | ||
Matt Member Username: Matt Post Number: 1149 Registered: 10-2003 |
Believe it or not, yes! I'm familiar with the area and I know how to use the "browse by category" feature on Yahoo maps. Put the two together and bam... I can see that not only is there Papa Joe's, but also the lovely Dog House Coney Island.
So you've been inside the restaurant already? Before the general public? Wow, color me impressed. I guess being a big time movie director really pays off! But wait... how would that qualify one to be an architectural designer? (Message edited by Matt on January 04, 2007) | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 255 Registered: 04-2004 |
I never say anything of our "Asiantown" or "Asian Village" in a parking structure to other people. It's an embarassment. Really, it is. For anyone willing to play pretend with that name, you'd be an idiot. The concept is not bad though. A Market at the ground level of a parking garage is fine. Especially with the potential of new residential and commercial development around it. so...... Remove "village" from the name and call it an Asian Market. Now that's a lot better. (Message edited by wolverine on January 04, 2007) | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 5371 Registered: 02-2004 |
That's the way that Mr. Dominic Pangborn designed it. He spent a lot of money installing this project. Let's hope it works. And maybe Asian Village could spread to E. Jefferson Ave, Gratiot and beyond. And Detroit would a very large Asian community in 50 years. | ||
Supersport Member Username: Supersport Post Number: 11082 Registered: 10-2003 |
I agree 100%! The concept itself is great. Actually placing retail on the ground floors of parking structures is the way every one built should be. Naming it a village though? That's downright laughable! They didn't create a village, they are retail in the ground floor of a parking structure. You haven't created "a village" or "a town" when you essentially amount to nothing more than a strip mall built into the side of a structure. That being said, I'm sure as the riverfront sees more development and if this venture is a success, we'll think little of the naming 5 or 10 years from now. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2264 Registered: 12-2004 |
My comments were confined to things like its doors and how pedestrians would access the building. Exterior features that are clearly and completely visible from outside of the building. As for my credentials, I've been walking for more than 34 years now and my comments were confined to the building's involvement in a walkable environment. If you disagree with my opinion, please feel free to post your own opinions about the complex. Or continue posting a series of rants about how the fact that I write a blog and made a documentary makes me completely unqualified to have an opinion about walking. | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1883 Registered: 11-2004 |
But you said yourself you are grumbling about architecture. And now you say it's just about walking. Sooooo ... ? If it's walking, that is one area I do feel you are definitely qualified to opine. | ||
Matt Member Username: Matt Post Number: 1150 Registered: 10-2003 |
Last time I checked Dominic Pangborn had nothing to do with the design of the deck itself. He's just a businessman bringing his vision to the city. If you want to bitch, bitch to GM, the owner of that parking deck.
Here's to Frank, the king of walking! Thirty four years, baby! | ||
Dabirch Member Username: Dabirch Post Number: 2023 Registered: 06-2004 |
DialH - Quite stalking. Your point has been made. As has Frank's. He doesn't like the way the building and the retail establishments open up to the sidewalk and street. Valid criticism. You appear to be taking on Jelk like bullying characteristics, and for such a lovely person as yourself, that is not very becoming. | ||
Susanarosa Member Username: Susanarosa Post Number: 1289 Registered: 11-2003 |
Frank walked himself right out onto Jefferson against the light one night.. he's lucky I saw him.  | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2265 Registered: 12-2004 |
Last time I checked, I never mentioned Mr. Pangborn's name once in my criticism. My comments were confined to how the structure was designed.
Next time you're not busy walking between GM's Wintergarden and Asian Village, you might want to open a dictionary. Architecture is defined as the design of buildings. How those buildings interface with the surrounding area is a part of its design. Therefore, by definition, commenting on how a building is integrated into a larger, walkable community is commenting on its architecture.
And here's to Matt and DialH, two guys who - when they can't handle criticism or refute any of the comments made - decide to lash out against the person made said comments with such stellar facts as that he writes a blog or made a documentary. Take your shit back over to the DY Kiddie Table where it belongs. (Message edited by fnemecek on January 05, 2007) | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1884 Registered: 11-2004 |
Keep reachin' for the lowest star! | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3409 Registered: 08-2004 |
Let me put this silly thread into perspective.... Just 2 miles up the road from me in SCS is a Chinese Restaurant called Pearl City. But dammit! There's no "city"!!! How dare they call it a "city"!! 'Nuff said..... | ||
Erikd Member Username: Erikd Post Number: 791 Registered: 10-2003 |
I am a frequent visitor to the RenCen Wintergarden, Riverwalk, and future Asian Village area. I never drive to the Riverwalk or RenCen shops. You can easily access this area by crossing Jefferson on foot, using the skywalk from the Millenender Center, or taking the DPM. Asian Village is just as accessable as the RenCen, Cobo, Hart Plaza, and the Riverwalk. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 185 Registered: 10-2006 |
Soon enough we will all be able to try "The Village" out for ourselves and formulate better reasons for our seemingly correct opinions. Then start a new thread all over again... | ||
Ericsprague Member Username: Ericsprague Post Number: 5 Registered: 02-2006 |
Their website has been redone, with realistic interior renderings. http://www.myasianvillage.com/ Also, they are adding a door on Atwater Street in place of one of the windows. I wonder if there will be room for outdoor tables. | ||
Matt Member Username: Matt Post Number: 1151 Registered: 10-2003 |
Silly me, you never mentioned the design of the restaurant, which is a venture of Mr. Pangborn. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2272 Registered: 12-2004 |
This, in my opinion, is a really good idea and will do a lot to remedy the design flaws.
On this, we agree.
Okay, Matt - let me get this straight. You are arguing that because I feel the building was poorly designed, this is a personal and/or professional slight against Dominic Pangborn. Is that right? Well, I suppose that depends. Did Mr. Pangborn design the building? If he did then I suppose you could interpret my comments as a professional slight against him. However, I doubt that he was the one designed the building since, according the State of Michigan's on-line database, Mr. Pangborn is not a licensed architect. http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bc s_free/default.asp I don't know who it was that designed the building. Quite frankly, however, whoever it was that designed the building does not change the quality (or lack thereof) of the design. If you disagree with my personal opinion as it relates to the design of the Asian Village, you are welcome to post your own opinions about the place and explain your rationale behind them. | ||
Lmichigan Member Username: Lmichigan Post Number: 5010 Registered: 10-2003 |
Not that it should matter at all, but since we're now really picky at nothing, here are some facts we need to get straight: 1. The proper name of the structure is "Beaubien Place". "Asian Village" is the name of the collective retail on the ground floor. 2. The architect is SmithGroup, the developer and owner of the parking structure being Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority. Pangborn is only developer of the ground floor "Asian Village" retail space. 3. Though GM leased considerable amounts of spots in the garage from the Port Authority, the structure was built primarily for parking for the soon-to-be started Port Authority Terminal nearby. | ||
Deandub11 Member Username: Deandub11 Post Number: 80 Registered: 05-2006 |
Did asian village open in time for the auto show? | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 202 Registered: 12-2006 |
I was down there earlier and didn't see anyone so I assume not. But I'm not positive. | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 2003 Registered: 07-2004 |
Adding a door to Atwater Street makes all the sense in the world. I could not believe that this was not a consideration during the initial construction. Then again, maybe this was in the plans all along. | ||
Kiki Member Username: Kiki Post Number: 10 Registered: 02-2006 |
It didnt open in time for the Auto show. I work downtown in the ren cen & I park in the open lot east of this structure. I have to say that for the time available for lunch... I probably wont go very often. The ren ctr is a pain in the ass to exit and enter. You either have the winter garden exit (which is a 7-10 min walk from my tower)... or you have the huge stairs and the long walk around the block. Anyone else work in the Ren Ctr? What do you think? | ||
Tetsua Member Username: Tetsua Post Number: 1059 Registered: 01-2004 |
Did this thing open yet, or what? | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 1254 Registered: 12-2004 |
Did this thing close yet, or what? (I give it three years, max)) | ||
Warrenite84 Member Username: Warrenite84 Post Number: 8 Registered: 01-2007 |
It looks a lot like a place my wife and I was looking into visiting in New York City last year. It was near Times Square called Ruby Foo's. It was sleek and modern with dark woods, and a deep red/ gold color scheme. brguestrestaurants They also had extensive sushi and dim sum selections. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1522 Registered: 11-2003 |
I talked to someone working at the Pangborn design shop in the Wintergarden yesterday, and she said that Asian Village would be opening sometime in March. |
