The Ilitch family has unveiled details of the grand plan to Crain's Detroit Business to transform a distressed area in the heart of Detroit into one the most dramatic and ambitious developments in decades.
Bill Shea of Crain's writes that ground breaking will begin in September on a $450 million Detroit Red Wings arena concurrently with another $200 million in apartments, restaurants, office buildings, parks and shops over 45 blocks.
Shea adds: "This is the city’s entertainment district, super-sized."
The new district will run from Grand River on the west to Ford Field and Brush Park on the east. And on the north, about 10 blocks from Grand Circus Park to Charlotte on the north.
The stadium will include a lighted roof will be capable of showing images, Shea reports. A rendering released to the media shows the roof lit with the Red Wings logo, Crain's reports.
The three-year construction project will create five new neighborhoods.
Shea writes that the deal with the city's Downtown Development Authority requires the Ilitch family to spend at least $200 million in ancillary development within five years of the venue’s opening.
Shea writes:
But the Ilitches are accelerating that timeline, and upping the ante.
The Ilitches, the Little Caesars pizza chain founders who have owned the hockey team since 1982, told Crain’s last week that their construction timeline has been radically moved forward so the investment can have a maximum catalytic impact for the city.
“We think the impact on our community will be exponential if it’s all done at once,” said Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings and son of Red Wings owners Mike and Marian Ilitch. “This project takes on a much bigger scale. There is nothing like this going on in our country.”
The project has not been without controversy. Some citizens were angry and say the city shouldn't have given away the land for $1.
-- Allan Lengel
