DETROIT, MI - A majority of MLive readers who voted in our poll said they think a new Detroit Red Wings arena development will spark sustained economic growth in the city's downtown.
We asked readers Thursday whether they thought the $650 million Detroit Red Wings arena and entertainment district project, unveiled in greater detail Wednesday, would leverage lasting economic redevelopment in the city's core.
Specifically, we asked: Will the project spark further redevelopment in Detroit? And allowed for the answers, "Yes, it will tie together the city's most rapidly developing areas," or
"No, this project does not appear to have what it takes," or "I have no idea."
Since Thursday afternoon, 133 readers have voted in the poll, and 103 votes, or about 77 percent said the arena will bring further development. Only 16 respondents, or about 12 percent, said the arena project does not have what it takes. The remaining 14 votes, or about 11 percent, said they weren't sure.
The $650 million project, scheduled to be complete in 2017, is being funded with a mix of $365.5 million in private investment and an estimated public investment of $284.5 million.
The space along Woodward Avenue where the more-than-20,000-seat, 650,000-square-foot arena and surrounding, 45-block entertainment district will go is fairly desolate, but it's wedged between two of Detroit's development hotbeds: Midtown and downtown. Both Midtown and downtown are said to have residential occupancy rates that are above 95 percent.
The plans by Olympia Development, the development arm of Little Caesers Pizza chain founders Mike and Marian Ilitch, who also own the Detroit Tigers and the Fox Theatre, call for mixed-use development that will have retail and possibly up to 2,000 residential units.
David Muller is the business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter