Marketing Detroit

Detroit, ohhh Detroit.  The national business community cowers at the idea of doing business in Detroit.  Especially the banks.  I was on the phone with a mortgage broker excited to speak about a mortgage refinance in the Central Business District of Detroit.  As we were going through the parameters of the deal, I shared with him where the building is located.  He says “Detroit?  I am sorry to hear that, most lenders will not go into Detroit.”  I stopped him while he was ranting about why.  I asked, “Have you ever been here?  Do you know what’s going on here?” 

“Have you ever been here?  Do you know what’s going on here?”

(This work has been released into the public domain by its author.)

Highlighting Noteworthy Neighborhoods in Detroit

In my first blog post, I highlighted two city of Detroit historic neighborhoods (North Rosedale Park and East English Village).  These neighborhoods are primarily residential communities consisting of mostly single family homes.  In this second blog post, I would like to draw attention to two additional Detroit historic neighborhoods which are in closer proximity to Wayne State University, Downtown Detroit, and Mid-Town.  They are Palmer Park and Lafayette Park.  These two communities are very different from most other neighborhoods within the city because they primarily contain multi-family dwellings units.  Accordingly, Palmer Park and Lafayette Park are more densely populated neighborhoods with urban living more similar to perhaps Chicago or Washington D.C.  As an added benefit, they are in close proximity to a variety of entertainment and retail districts as well as city parks.  Palmer Park and Lafayette Park are also closer to Downtown and Mid-town than North Rosedale Park and East English Village.  

In the past few years, much attention has been given to the revitalization and economic development in downtown and mid-town Detroit. While not taking anything away from the necessity of having a vibrant core, the city of Detroit also has several interesting and historic neighborhoods that students, faculty, and staff, could consider as livable housing options. I would like to highlight two historic Detroit neighborhoods that are not located downtown or along the Woodward Avenue corridor. They are North Rosedale Park and East English Village. My reasons for selecting these two neighborhoods are: