Detroit’s Revival Moving Beyond the Downtown Core

The new QLINE will open next year and stretch for several miles along Woodward Ave.

DETROIT—Detroit has recently gained a great deal of notice due to the resurrection of its downtown. But one question that has remained is whether the stupendous growth in its office employment and residential occupancy will have an impact on the vast city beyond the core. Gregg McDuffee, executive director of the Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority and outgoing chairman of Urban Land Institute-Michigan, tells GlobeSt.com that he already sees the ripple effects of downtown development and expects the wider city to benefit even more in the future.

“It’s important to understand that Detroit was the first middle-class city in the early 20^th century,” he says. “It was an incredible melting pot that brought people in from all over the world.” And as the city grew during these decades, thousands of people, many attracted by the burgeoning auto industry, built single-family homes. “When you look around Detroit, you’ll see that we’ve got very solid neighborhoods throughout the city.”