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Last time I checked, it was tough to find a good rental unit in Corktown, where a 1,700-square-foot loft is on the market for nearly $1 million.
In other words, Corktown, one of Detroit's gems, is a hot neighborhood, and real estate doesn't come cheap.
Yet, Detroit now offers $104 million in tax breaks for Ford's new Corktown campus, which includes the recently acquired Michigan Central Station.
According to Crain's Detroit Business, Mayor Mike Duggan's administration plans to submit a plan to City Council by Sept. 19 that asks council members to abate $104 million in city taxes over 35 years as part of nearly $239 million in tax breaks Ford is seeking for the $740-million project.
First off, development will come to Corktown whether Ford is there or not.
Secondly, Ford needs Detroit as much as Detroit needs Ford.
Detroit is a hot brand, and Ford wants to capitalize on that (have you ever heard of Shinola?). It also wants to attract young workers seeking an urban experience.
This city has to get over its inferiority complex, a feeling that it's not good enough, that it has to essentially bribe corporations with big bucks to convince them to come to Detroit and snap up real estate in a hot neighborhood.
Ford wants to be in Detroit. So do other companies.
Let's stop selling ourselves short.
