Daily Detroit

Daily Detroit

What to know and where to go in Southeast Michigan! Our all-local show talks about what matters and what makes you smile in Metro Detroit. All in about 22 minutes a day. . read less
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Episodes

The Past, Present and Possible Future of the RenCen (ft. Mark Nickita)
5d ago
The Past, Present and Possible Future of the RenCen (ft. Mark Nickita)
The Renaissance Center has been at the center of Detroit's skyline since the 1970s - and it's a building with a fascinating past, present, and future.  With General Motors moving out and going to two floors of the Hudson's Detroit up Woodward Avenue, in the next year GM and Bedrock will be working together to try to find new uses for the 5.5 million square foot complex that today is mostly offices and a hotel. I felt like we should learn a bit more about the building, and talk about way to not only redevelop it, but connect it to the rest of the city of Detroit. I say "connect" because the initial design was very intentionally separated from the rest of the city. Through a number of interior redesigns, the RenCen of today is quite different than what was built. And what we see going forward? Might be quite a bit different than today - even on the outside. To talk about the history, what's going on now and the future? Mark Nickita is our guest.  Mark Nickita, FAIA is an urbanist, architect, retail entrepreneur, developer, educator, an elected municipal leader, and co- founder and President of Archive DS. He has vast experience in the development, enhancement and the regeneration of pedestrian-oriented urban environments including downtowns, neighborhoods, developed corridors, mixed-use areas and underutilized districts of post-industrial cities. Architectural and urban design projects include adaptive-reuse, historic rehabilitation and new infill buildings in a variety of cities, typically on challenging urban sites that require unique design solutions.  I hope you enjoy (and learn something) from this conversation.  Feedback as always - dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or 313-789-3211 Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonapple Thanks to our members: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit
Best breakfasts near Downtown Detroit // First look at Vecino // New site, new newsletter
Apr 24 2024
Best breakfasts near Downtown Detroit // First look at Vecino // New site, new newsletter
Today in a new game, "Pick 3," we determine what are our favorite breakfast spots in greater Downtown Detroit ahead of the NFL Draft (to answer listener Laura's question). Engineer Randy went to the newest dining ticket in Detroit, Vecino. He has thoughts in a first look at the modern Mexician cuisine spot. And, we talk about our brand new website and newsletter platform to improve how we serve all of you. Rundown: 01:24 - Randy checks out the newest restaruant in Midtown, Vecino. This isn't a full review but a "first look," with his thoughts from food to drinks to pricing. 09:39 - Our new game show, Pick 3! Where Jer and Randy draft their favorite three breakfast spots near the NFL Draft to help out listener Laura. 18:21 - We've got a brand new website and new newsletter platform. We've moved to Ghost to help be ready to grow the thing. Thanks to our newest sponsor, your local Best Choice Roofing of Metro Detroit. They do quality work, you can hire them around the region (and in the city) and we thank them for their support. https://bestchoiceroofingdetroit.com/ As always, you can find Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. On Apple: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonapple  On Spotify: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonspotify  Thanks to our members on Patreon. Local coverage requires local support: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit
BONUS: What is the state of Detroit? (ft. Chase Cantrell)
Apr 18 2024
BONUS: What is the state of Detroit? (ft. Chase Cantrell)
On Wednesday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivered his eleventh State of the City address. It was a rapid-fire list of wins, and areas where he wants to focus on the next year. But what is the state of our city, from a different perspective? What if we take a minute, or an hour in this case, and unpack what's happening in Michigan's largest city with a different lens?  Chase Cantrell - he heads up Building Community Value, lectures at the University of Michigan and is an active developer - brings that lens, and we work through different angles of the topics in the speech. This is one of the most in-depth analysis you're going to find on the speech, and whether you agree or not we'd love to hear what you have to say. For feedback, dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com or 313-789-3211. Here's the topic rundown, and an automated show transcript is to come. 01:34 - Public Safety improvements, things that work and things that maybe should get even more money as a percentage of the overall budget. 05:32 - Trauma and black flight from the city. The causes, how to address it, and what's next. 11:06 - Construction costs have skyrocketed, impacting the rebuild of empty land 12:51 - A lack of family homes in Detroit - why? How to address that? 16:12 - Environment and sustainability conversation. Solar panels vs. addressing flooding. 20:43 - Advocating for participatory budgeting 24:55 - Discussing the Detroit Promise scholarship program, and encouraging more awareness of it 29:22 - Affordable housing. We need more! What do we need to get there? And addressing the wealth of the people of Detroit. 32:32 - The underlying challanges and opportunities of wrestling with buses and transit in Detroit. 43:50 - There's going to be a new focus on abandoned vehicles. 50:17 - More of a commitment to black history, including more monuments that reflect the majority community here as much of our civic art downtown looks like it's still the Jerome Cavanaugh administration 53:56 - $3 Billion in wealth for black homeowners. What does that mean? And the gaps to help people access or build that wealth as banks are hesitant to do smaller lending (under $100,000). As always, you can find Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. On Apple: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonapple  On Spotify: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonspotify  Thanks to our members on Patreon. Local coverage requires local support: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit
GM is moving out the RenCen. What could go there next? (ft. Robin Runyan)
Apr 16 2024
GM is moving out the RenCen. What could go there next? (ft. Robin Runyan)
In a move that's got the whole Detroit region talking, General Motors is leaving the RenCen in 2025 to take up the upper floors of the office space at Hudson's Detroit.  But that leaves one of Detroit's most iconic buildings without a clear path. Bedrock and GM are going to work over the next year to think about what it looks like going forward, but we take a first take at it, and talk about some of the amenities we'd like to see - and what the city might need.  As always, feedback - dailydetroit - at - gmail - dot - com. Or 313-789-3211.  The rundown: 01:46 - General Motors will be moving out of the Ren Cen and into Dan Gilbert's Hudson's Detroit in 2025 02:50 - Details we know are sparce, but could a shiny new building make people want to come to the office again?  04:09 - Redeveloping the Ren Cen into residential, if possible, could be the best move to improve Downtown Detroit's population, the lowest by percentage (and in some cases, raw numbers) among like regions in the country. 08:29 - RenCen speculation, what is going to happen to this iconic building? What would we like to see? Also offering something that suburbs can't - density and types of city-focused living. Greater Downtown Detroit has room for 50,000+ more people for it even compare to other major downtowns as far as residential, and also boost the city's population numbers; but there'd need to be real density and the RenCen could help with that.  11:47 - Gilbert had this idea to pitch this move to GM years ago when he first talked to Mayor Duggan about his plans to build Hudson's Detroit. It's been in the works a long time, and a reminder these leaders are always talking. If you want to read more on Urbanize, check out this post: https://detroit.urbanize.city/post/gm-announces-move-rencen-new-hudsons-detroit As always, you can find Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.  On Apple: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonapple On Spotify: https://lnk.to/dailydetroitonspotify Thanks to our members on Patreon. Local coverage requires local support: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit