A new talking point to support the idea of a comeback for Detroit: brisk business and new investment in the Downtown hotel market.
"The city's hotel market is in the midst of a growth spurt as developers turn derelict downtown buildings into upscale boutique hotels. As momentum builds, even one former by-the-hour motel is getting cleaned up and renamed to attract a more respectable and deep-pocketed clientele," reports JC Reindl and John Gallagher.
The new developments are following a strong showing for the existing hotels in the city in 2014: "Spurred by a rebounding auto industry and convention business, as well as growth in entertainment options, downtown Detroit hotels saw their best performance in years in 2014, hitting an average occupancy rate of about 66%, according to local hospitality officials. The average nightly rate was $115 to $120." For comparison's sake, the Downtown occupancy rate was 47 percent in 2008.
Reindl and Gallgher give some credit for the resurgent hotel market in Detroit to the "$279-million expansion and upgrade of Cobo Center, the city's main convention facility. The work, due to finish this year, created the Grant Riverview Ballroom and the soaring riverside Atrium, major selling points for attracting new convention business."
The article goes on to provide details about some of the latest hotel projects to open, begin construction, or enter the planning and approval process.
Read the full story: Why everyone has started building a Detroit hotel
Real Estate Prices Booming in Downtown Detroit
As downtown real estate prices soar, similar to other cities in the United States, it's possible to see signs of recovery around Detroit. Other parts of the city, however, are not seeing the same changes.
Salt Lake City Bucks Downtown Decline Trend
The city’s central business district is bustling with more activity than before the pandemic.
Legislature Clears Way for Detroit Convention Center Makeover
A redevelopment plan for Huntington Place would add hundreds of new hotel rooms and create riverfront connectivity.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority