Since the mid-1970s, Detroit’s riverfront has been transforming from a depressed industrial area into a bustling district for families and businesses.
John Gallagher and Zlati Meyer report on the success of RiverWalk, after forty years in the works:
"Planners say the riverfront eventually will offer economic as well as recreational opportunities. As the housing market recovers, city officials and developers look forward to the construction of hundreds or even thousands of upscale condos and rental apartments and retail stores, investments that could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars."
The job is clearly not complete: Gallagher and Meyer found gaps on the RiverWalk that still need to be filled, include stalled plans for condos, apartments, and retail spaces and parks that need to be rebuilt.
Read the full story: After 40 years, Detroit's riverfront goes from factories and shipping to housing, retail, recreation
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The East Riverfront now provides 3.5 miles of contiguous parks and trails on the formerly industrial waterfront.
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The Next Step in the Evolution of Detroit's Waterfront
A groundbreaking ceremony for Atwater Beach on Detroit's east waterfront is just one of many ongoing construction projects that will add open space and recreation facilities to formerly industrial areas.
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