Eastern Market : Detroit Development News

The northern end of the Dequindre Cut has some new (sanctioned) graffiti as the result of a partnership between the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, and the College for Creative Studies' community+public arts DETROIT initiative.

The section of wall near the Gratiot entrance was previously either blank or artlessly tagged, says Jim Boyle who helps the DRFC with outreach via his position at LovioGeorge. "It was not painting over something that looked cool already," he says. "The Conservancy has embraced the aesthetic (of graffiti), they want to keep it alive and going on in a meaningful way."

Acting as project curators, CAID director Aaron Timlin and curator of graffiti art Tom Stoye selected four artists to create original murals along the Cut. Three writers -- MALT, PHERS and TEAD -- have completed murals on one wall near the Gratiot portion of the Cut, with an additional piece by GAME to be created in the same area this coming weekend.

Stoye says feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. "They might not understand the art form or be able to decipher the letters, but there is a universal appeal to the public at large," he says. "A lot of people don't feel comfortable looking at art in a gallery or museum, but (seeing it in) a public space, a natural environment, has a really positive effect on people."

The Dequindre Cut graffiti initiative was made possible with support from Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

Source: Jim Boyle, Lovio George and Tom Stoye, CAID
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD) is a trade association for the city's more than 60 community development corporations. At the end of 2008, the group decided to create an emergency task force to help its members deal with the financial crisis through advocacy, resource identification and technical assistance.

Growing from that work, the committee, now called the Futures Task Force, has released a set of land use recommendations for Detroit that include some concepts that are being discussed by many -- such as the repurposing of vacant land -- but with an added focus on the importance of community development organizations in the work to be done. "What we're saying is not radically different (than what others are saying)," says Tim Thorland, CDAD's chairperson and executive director of Southwest Housing Corp."(Our vision) is nuts and bolts, what organizations with resources that they have identified think they can accomplish based on practical ideas from people that live in these neighborhoods."

CDAD's recommendations call for a bold new vision for Detroit, one that targets resources into denser neighborhoods and requires unprecedented collaboration. And what community development corporations bring to this table, besides a proven track record of real estate development, is the voice of the community, says Thorland. "(It's) necessary to the success of whatever plan you want to implement and it's the one asset we have that nobody else does," he says. "It's in an honest and meaningful way, not window dressing...We've been doing this for 30 years in the best interest of the community, what the community has told us that they want."

CDAD plans to shop its plan to city officials and foundations. Read the entire set of recommendations here.

Source: Tim Thorland, CDAD and Southwest Housing Corp.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

From a studio at FD Lofts in Eastern Market, Micha Adams operates Detroit Flyhouse, a yoga studio that doubles as a home for aerial arts. "It's like yoga, dance and flying combined," she says. "We have ages seven to 70, all different body types and strength levels."

Adams offers eight-week aerial yoga classes. She explains that, like most forms of exercise, it builds strength and fitness, but being in the air has other benefits as well. "It is a huge self-confidence strengthener," she says. "It's a controlled, safe environment with people who encourage you to take healthy risks."

Detroit Flyhouse launched in another space one year ago and moved into its current location in February. "The space is perfect," says Adams. "It gets a lot of traffic and we have these giant fire doors that we keep open all the time, which piques interest."

Anyone interested in checking out the aerial arts has plenty of chances in the coming months. The Flyhouse will be at the People's Art Festival at Russell Industrial Center this weekend and at the Dally in the Alley on Sept. 12. A full schedule can be found here.

Source: Micha Adams, Detroit Flyhouse
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Detroit Dance Loft opened in May of this year in Eastern Market. Owner and instructor Meg Paul has been dancing professionally since the age of 15, logging time with the Joffrey Ballet and on Broadway.

Paul moved to Detroit three years ago when her husband, Vince Paul, was hired as the creative director for the Music Hall. She says that, after "immersing" herself in the local dance scene, she saw a need for instruction.

The Dance Loft offers instruction in ballet, modern, tap, hip hop and Broadway. Paul's target are professionals "on their way to the stage" as well as adults who "want to try something new or rekindle their passion for dance."

There are also workshops such as Burlesque Boot Camp and Yoga Metrics.

Paul selected Eastern Market for her venture to draw upon the artistic energy brewing in the neighborhood. "The area already seems to be thriving with arts-related venues," she says. "It seems like it's brimming with a little more population that supports the arts, a little bit more creative." She also has found the area easy for people to find, even for those traveling into the city from the outer suburbs.

Detroit Dance Loft's exposed brick brings Paul back to her days in New York City: "It reminds me of my days in the city dancing ... It's not just four white walls, it's interesting."

The Dance Loft is at 1353 Fisher Freeway East at Russell. For more info, e-mail Info@DetroitDanceLoft.com or call (917) 679-4866.

Source: Meg Paul, Detroit Dance Loft
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Is your neighborhood a better place because of the efforts of your local community development corporation? If so, nominate it for Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC) 9th Annual Detroit Community Development Awards.

The first category, CDC of the Year, will go to a comprehensive organization that builds houses and maybe even takes on commercial development. It delves into community issues of all stripes and probably is involved in a park or greenway project.

The second category, Community Champions, is for ordinary citizens that go to extraordinary lengths to improve their neighborhood. There will be five winners of this award, one in the following geographic areas: Central Woodward, East, Northeast, Northwest and Southwest. Additionally, three organizations will be designated as Community Champions.

Nomination forms and additional information are available at www.detroit-lisc.org. They are due on Friday, July 17 and will be handed out at the awards ceremony in September.

Source: Detroit LISC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

This week, public radio station WDET 101.9 FM launched a special series, "Facing the Mortgage Crisis: Home Is More Than Our House," that will air over the next seven weeks. Starting next week, Model D will also present a series of stories on the topic. The media partners will join together on June 24 for a Speaker Series that will delve into the subject matter from yet another angle.

Model D publisher Brian Boyle sees an opportunity for the local coverage to reveal individual neighborhood responses to the crisis. "In this market, with everything being so cheap, you don't have to wait for a program," he says. "Individuals are doing some of the more innovative things."

Listeners and readers will learn about volunteer opportunities and other ways to take action. WDET also will host a blog at on its web site that will compile all information reported on-air.

Sign up for the Model D speaker series here, and follow WDET during its news programs like Detroit Today for more from the series.

Source: WDET and Brian Boyle, Model D
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Detroit Greenways Coalition has released a nifty map and guide to greenways that exist and are planned in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck. Entitled "Building Pathways that Unite a City," the brochure unfolds to a full-color map that reveals off-road and on-road routes all over town, some denoted as existing, some as planned and a few that are merely conceptual at this time.

There are ten main greenways described:

• Conner Creek Greenway: Nine miles of pathways that will roughly follow the route of the former Conner Creek on the eastside, from the Detroit River to Eight Mile. Two miles are complete.

• Corktown-Mexicantown Greenlink: 16.25 miles that will connect Corktown and Mexicantown to each other and to the West Riverfront. The plan is complete and community groups are hoping to see construction begin this fall.

• Dequindre Cut: This two-mile rail-to-trail project will run two miles between the East Riverfront, Lafayette Park and Eastern Market up to Mack. 1.2 miles of it are complete and open to the public.

• Detroit RiverWalk: A stretch of public river access targeted to pedestrians and cyclists that will eventually stretch 5.5 miles between the Ambassador Bridge and Belle Isle; 2.7 miles are complete.

• Downriver Delta Greenways: Located in the 48217 zipcode on the lower Southwest side of Detroit, this 2.5 mile greenway will run along Fort Street into Downriver when built.

• Hamtramck Trail: This 1.5 mile route will connect Hamtramck's downtown to its parks. Eventually, hopes are to tie it into the Dequindre Cut on its south end.

• Inner Circle Greenway: Mostly conceptual at this time, the vision for the Inner Circle Greenway is a 20-mile route that would make use of the abandoned Detroit Terminal Railroad right-of-way. Picture a Dequindre Cut that take a roughly half-circle route through Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.

• Lyndon Greenway: This 1.5-mile route will connect Eliza Howell and Stopel Parks in Brightmoor. Ground was broken in April.
  

• Midtown Loop: Work is expected to begin this summer on this two-mile loop through the Cultural Center. Future plans include connections to New Center and Downtown.

• Southwest Detroit Greenway: This 3-mile greenway connects Woodmere Cemetery, the West Vernor business district, Patton Park and Dearborn's Lapeer Park. Hopes are to run it further east to Clark Park in Mexicantown.
  

The purpose of the map is to inform, but also to "sell the vision," says Todd Scott of the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, the organization that coordinates the Detroit Greenways Coalition. The target audience is residents, elected officials and funders.

Copies of the map will be available on the RiverWalk during the upcoming RiverDays event, June 19-21.

Source: Todd Scott, Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The State of Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority is making its inventory of nearly 7,000 vacant lots statewide -- 6,000 in Detroit alone -- available as community gardens via its Garden for Growth program.

"Our goals, in addition to finding productive uses for these vacant plots, is to support the Governor's Urban Food Initiative," says Carrie Lewand-Monroe, the Michigan Land Bank's executive director. "We're hoping to help allow folks in urban areas to access fresh, healthy food."

The way it works is that any community member can apply to garden a lot in the Michigan Land Bank for $50 for one year. At that point, participants are able to put in an application to purchase the land.

This lease-first approach is considered a "best practice" for programs of this type for two reasons: It allows time for the garden to be established and it keeps it tax-free for the first year. The Land Bank is willing to flexible with lease terms; it is working with The Greening of Detroit on five parcels that will be leased for five years.

Any kind of garden is eligible: native plants, flowers and vegetables -- even a park, says Lewand-Monroe. All gardeners will be connected with the Greening of Detroit's Garden Resource Program for classes and planting material.

Lewand-Monroe explains why 7,000 of the Michigan Land Bank's 8,000 properties are vacant lots: because they are all foreclosed properties that date back to 1999, which was when tax laws changed. "There aren't as many structures as the county would have," she says.

They also administer a Side Lot program for vacant lots that are adjacent to occupied residences. To search for a property, use the Land Bank's web site Search for Property feature. The application for the Garden for Growth program is also available on the site.

Source: Carrie Lewand-Monroe, Michigan Land Bank
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The Detroit Department of Transportation will receive $37.5 million in economic stimulus funds, which will be used to update its fleet and facilities. In a statement, Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. pledged to "put the money to good use, making travel in Detroit a more enjoyable experience.”

The funds will replace 50 older DDOT buses with 50 new buses, including gas-electric hybrid vehicles. The money also will pay for new bus shelters; new bus stop signs, such as those at Woodward and Warren and Woodward and Mack; and the improvement of the Shoemaker Terminal and Garage at St. Jean and East Warren. (Model D writer and bus riding convert Terry Parris Jr. wrote about the need for better signage and shelters here.)

In other transportation funding for the city, the Department of Public Works will receive $37.5 million for road resurfacing. This $59.3 million package is the second for Detroit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the first was more than $30 million in weatherization funds.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments will administer the distribution of any economic stimulus funds involving transportation in Southeast Michigan. The agency has indicated the transportation money for Detroit will be available by the end of the month.

Source: City of Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

If you thought the Dequindre Cut was officially open, no one could blame you. After all, people started walking, biking and jogging the trailway last summer. But finishing touches, including construction on the Antietam bridge that goes over the depressed former rail line, held up an actual formal opening.

Well, the time is nearing, and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will be hosting a blowout grand opening for the Cut on May 14.

Mark your calendars -- planning is ongoing for the day's festivities, but expect refreshments, music, bikes, and more.

In the meantime, whet your appetite with these photos and articles:
SEMI MODERN, February 2009
Metropolis, February 2009
Model D Dev News, November 2008
Model D TV, August 2008
Model D Dev News, July 2008
Model D feature, November 2005

Source: Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Detroit Evolution Laboratory will reopen on April 1 with an expanded six-day-a-week class schedule and a new feature: open hours throughout the day for people to gather and drink coffee or tea, browse the community library, do homework and hold meetings.

This week, construction on the Lab will expand its classroom space and add a partition that will allow more than one activity to be held at a time. The expansion will accommodate 20 students per yoga class, up from about 10.

The Lab was founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Angela Kasmala and Gregg Newsom. To help grow their offerings and extend their reach, they have brought in a partner, Alan Scheurman, who will be programming a variety of evening workshops, classes and events.

The yoga schedule will be 8 a.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. and noon on Saturdays, noon on Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Other classes that will be offered -- check the Detroit Evolution Laboratory web site for times and details -- include vegan, raw food, meditation, shamanism and body awareness.

Each month on the night of the Full Moon, the lab will be open for live music, poetry, art, and workshops. On April 9, the art of Jeffery Thomas of the Woodbridge-based band Gardens will be showcased beginning at 7 p.m.

Source: Gregg Newsom, Detroit Evolution Laboratory
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

As work proceeds on Eastern Market's Shed 3, planning and fundraising for more capital improvements to the rest of the neighborhood continue. At two town hall meetings last week, Eastern Market Corp. president Dan Carmody presented an overview of his organization's comprehensive plan for the entire district called Eastern Market 360.

Shed 4 will be a new two-story market hall built on the lot just north of Shed 3. It will host approximately 14 food processing vendors on the ground floor -- think artisanal cheeses, organic tortillas and pastas -- and a teaching kitchen and classrooms on the second level. Plans call for Shed 4 and Shed 3 to share a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Shed 5 will be rehabbed with a focus on horticulture. The narrow Shed 6 will be widened for weather protection and a wind collector will be installed on top. The existing parking garage will be improved, and solar panels will be installed on its roof. Carmody says EMC's goal is for 15 percent of the market's energy needs to come from renewable sources.

Shed 7 will be substantially improved as a Growers Terminal, with an eye to improving the viability of the market's wholesale business. It will include a new terminal and docking facility and will be refrigerated.

Greening of Detroit is expected to break ground this year on a 2.5-acre market garden that will have a greenhouse and hoop sheds to extend the growing season. Carmody says the garden is about both food production and economic development -- the intent is to quantify job production as a function of garden acreage. Current estimates suggest that if just 20 percent of Detroit's food was produced locally (currently, that number stands at 2-3 percent), 4,700 jobs would be created, which would generate $20 million in taxes and $125 million in income.

As for the Eastern Market District -- bounded by I-75, Mack, St. Aubin and Gratiot -- the goal is to simplify its zoning which will, in turn, lead to an increase in the area's mix of uses as well as improving connectivity to other neighborhoods such as Downtown and Midtown.
 
The plan is based on brick and mortar construction, but there is more to it than that. Part of what Eastern Market Corp. aims to do with expanded and improved facilities is help to rebuild the local food system, with Eastern Market as a hub. The market already is part of the system's processing, wholesale and retail functions, but this more comprehensive market would also provide nutrition education, grower training, convert waste to fertilizer and produce food.

Source: Dan Carmody, Eastern Market Corp.
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

Model D writer Kelli Kavanaugh brings national attention to the Dequindre Cut with her piece in Metropolis Magazine.

Excerpt:

The trail’s first phase is a mile-long segment that includes restrained landscaping, two strips of asphalt (one for pedestrians and the other for bikes), light­ing, security phones, and benches. A full half of its width is left untouched to accommodate a prospective light-rail line. But what the trail connects is as important as how it looks. Its three access points are the recently redeveloped Detroit Riverfront; Lafayette Park, a well-established residential community that boasts the world’s largest collection of Mies van der Rohe buildings; and the southern end of Eastern Market, a popular outdoor market with specialty shops and restaurants.

For many locals, the best part of the Dequindre Cut is its colorful graffiti. During the 25 years that the rail line went unused, it became a kind of open-air gallery overgrown with brush and home to wildlife such as pheasants, foxes, and rabbits. The trail’s promoters have used the project to preserve the graphic remnants of its days as a dystopian nature trail visited only by graffiti artists, urban explorers, and the homeless. “It was like a wilderness in the middle of the city,” says Jim Griffioen, a Lafayette Park resident. “It was splashed with an ever-changing archaeology of color that even the most stodgy decrier of vandalism couldn’t deny was art.”

Read the entire article here.

Owner Dave Mancini can grab the freshest ingredients imaginable from Eastern Market vendors just steps away from his pizzeria's doors. Supino Pizzeria at 2457 Russell St. in Eastern Market has gotten rave reviews from diners and yelp reviewers -- some who say it's the best pie in town.

Hear more about it in this clip from producer Tom Hendrickson and director Jim Toscano. Read more about it here.

Nearly 100 people packed Cliff Bells last Tuesday for the first speaker series hosted jointly by Open City and Model D. It was a natural fit for the two groups, considering the former helps facilitate opening small businesses in Detroit and the latter likes to celebrate such businesses.

The topic of the forum was "Location, Location, Location." As in, you want to start a small business in Detroit and want to know in which neighborhood would be best to set up shop.

The panel, which was moderated by this writer, was comprised of five experts in five specific neighborhoods. Each of them, who works for the non-profit community development corporation dedicated to that area, demonstrated passion for their own specific community tempered with a clear spirit of cooperation.

Michael Solaka of New Center Council discussed some of the projects coming down the pipeline in his neighborhood, including the renovation of the park at the corner of Second and West Grand Boulevard and the rehabilitation of the Argonaut into an expanded College for Creative Studies. NCC's annual CityFest was cited as an example of a major event put on by a non-profit that can generate excitement -- and dollars -- for a small business.

Down in Midtown, Sue Mosey was representing the University Cultural Center Association. Mosey discussed some of the financial incentives available to small businesses interested in locating in the district as well as some less tangible manners of assistance, including navigating red tape at city hall.

Kathy Wendler from the Southwest Detroit Business Association talked about the growing immigrant population that is investing in the community and the number of strong grocery stores, making Southwest an ideal place to locate a food business.

Food is also an obvious strong fit for Eastern Market, and Dan Carmody of the Eastern Market Corp. encouraged those with a small idea to set up shop at the market on Saturdays to generate some buzz and test-drive a new product with a very low overhead -- as low as $60 per week.

Also on the small tip, Khalilah Burt of the Downtown Detroit Partnership discussed how a smaller size space can work for a start-up -- like Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes, rocking out in just 48 square feet. The DDP's Clean Downtown program means that businesses located in the Central Business District can expect clean, inviting sidewalks for their customers.

The next Open City will take place on March 17. Marketing is on the agenda.

Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh