Drive through plenty residential sections of Detroit on the the east and west sides and you'll see burned out homes and ones with roofs collapsing and some empty fields.
Then drive through Midtown.
There are still signs of decay, but as the Detroit News points out, the revival continues to gain steam with no signs of a let up with "new retailers sprouting up to cater to the growing number of creative and health-conscious residents moving into the neighborhood.
Reporter Michael Martinez writes:
Lifestyle boutiques and fitness shops have opened across Midtown in past months — many of them on the first floors of newly built or refurbished residential units. They include: Hugh, a men's accessories and home décor store; Emerald, a clothing and gift boutique; Be Nice Yoga and the Yoga Shelter; and an upscale grocer, Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe.
More stores are planned for early 2013 as entrepreneurs open their first shops and veteran merchants expand or upgrade their locations to meet the needs of the neighborhood's growing population.
"Midtown is really sexy right now," said Janet Jones, owner of the independent book store Source Booksellers on Cass Avenue, near the Wayne State University campus. "The creative class has some root here. Everyone's working together toward renewal."
