Transit Oriented Development
April 2008. Megan Owen, Executive Director of Transportation Riders United (TRU), spoke about transit oriented development. This school of thought is more about mass transit and green development than the traditional car and suburban model of development. This was part of a series focusing on development in the up-and-coming Woodbridge neighborhood, and was held at the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit gallery/art space on Rosa Parks Blvd. in Woodbridge.

Development in Midtown Detroit
March 2008. Sue Mosey, the Executive Director of the University Cultural Center Association (UCCA), spoke about development in Midtown Detroit. Midtown means the area bounded by I-94 to the north, I-75 to the east, I-75 to the south, and M-10/The Lodge to the west, and includes WSU's campus and the Medical Center. The UCCA encourages and facilitates development in that part of the city, and has played a large role in the hundreds of million of dollars that have been invested in that part of Detroit in the past 8 - 10 years.

Cityscape hosts the Greater Detroit Historic Preservation Coalition which hosts Rock Financial
March 2008. The Greater Detroit Historic Preservation Coalition (GDHPC) is a coalition of all of the "built environment" nonprofit organizations in Detroit like Preservation Wayne, Friends of Belle Ilse, Cityscape Detroit, etc. The coalition allows all of these groups to coordinate and synergize. There is an "Issues Committee" that is designed to allow developers who are doing a major project in Detroit to meet with the groups and concerned parties and for both parties to share plans and concerns early in the process so that smart development is done and there are no "train wrecks" farther on down the process. David Carrol, Vice President at Rock Financial, addressed the committee in March to discuss what Rock Financial was planning on doing in terms of building its headquarters and doing additional development downtown.

Wayne State University's Master Plan
February 2008. Wayne State University (WSU) is one of the largest public universities in America. It is the largest business/organization in University/Cultural Center District in Detroit, and has a major impact on the development and physical environment. Jim Sears, Vice President of Facilities for Wayne State University, gave a presentation on WSU's master plan for development in that area.

2007 Annual Meeting: "Development in Detroit," by DEGC president George Jackson
December 2007. The conference room at Smart Detroit was overflowing full to attend Cityscape Detroit's 2007 annual meeting and hear DEGC President George Jackson talk about development in Detroit. The first part of the meeting was a wrap-up of Cityscape's activities in 2007. Jackson then spoke for probably an hour and answered questions for maybe an hour and a half. He spoke candidly on: the DEGC's mission, the city's development org chart, the organization of the EGC/DDA/DBRA/TIF's etc., the Lower Woodward Improvement Program (LWIP), Super Bowl Cobo Hall improvements, LWIP's facade improvement program, LWIP's residential development component, LWIP's business attraction program, Kennedy Square Building, Griswold Place, Lafer Building, 600 Woodward, Book/Cadillac Building, Dodge Fountain restoration, the Riverwalk/East Riverfront, Belleview (Betters/Bettis) housing development, the Watermark, Chene East, the Atwater, Social Compacts study about the city's true economic and residential numbers, DDOT's Central Administration Building, the Rosa Parks Transit Center, upcoming Greektown streetscape improvements, upcoming downtown East/West streetscape improvements, the old Tiger Stadium redevelopment, upcoming plans for Capital Park, the Paradise Valley Project, upcoming plans for Hart Plaza, the Chene Park/Ford Auditorium/amptheatre issue, Brush Park infrastructure improvements, the Far Eastside Project infrastructure improvements, low- and moderate-income housing, light rail, Rock Financial's new HQ and that development deal, Dan Gilbert, the current mortgage crisis, the Land Bank, code enforcement and maintenance standards, the Michigan Central Train station, Detroit City Council being elected by districts, downsizing, sustainable and green development, urban agriculture, raising up the "underclass," job training programs, workforce development, the Detroit Public Schools, Arvin Meritor, Caraco, a second bridge span across the Detroit River, the old Uniroyal site, plans for a Cobo Hall expansion, streamlining the process to develop property in Detroit, and more.

New Office Open House
November 2007. Cityscape moved into its new office in the historic Penobscot skyscraper in the heart of downtown Detroit, and in November had an open house. Various members of the Detroit "built environment" community got together and socialized, caught-up and checked-out the new space. It was a fun, easy, social event.

Nonprofit Benefit Shopping Night at Bureau of Urban Living
October 2007. Bureau of Urban Living is Detroit's newest, hippest, locally-owned boutique. Located in Midtown Detroit, it bills itself as a modern day general store, and sells beautifully designed things for the house, apartment and office. Bureau partnered with Cityscape where we had a reception in the store, and a percent of everything they sold that day was donated to the group.

Brownfield Redevelopment: Process, Policy and Incentives
July 2007. Brownfield tax credits are an important incentive to redevelop old buildings and land. These presentations were moderated by Robert Colangelo, CEO of the National Brownfield Association, and presenters included Mariangela Pledl of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Doug Brown of ASTI Environmental, Bob Zinser of the Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation and Kurt Brauer of Bodman LLP. The audience was composed of many developers, consultants, real estate professionals, city government representatives - a very technical crowd.

June Meeting: Tour the Atwood's Brush Park Mansion Restoration
June 2007. Bill and Jen Atwood, past boardmembers of Cityscape Detroit, were kind enough to allow the June officers/board meeting to take place at the 1882 mansion they are restoring in historic Brush Park in Midtown Detroit. This was also a recruitment event for new officers. The first item on the agenda was touring the 7,400 sq. ft house which was were the DSO was first founded and which was only about 20% finished.

Dr. Robert Fishman: "The Fifth Migration"
April 2007. Robert Fishman, author of Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia and professor at the University of Michigan's school of architecture and urban planning, predicts the rebirth of the American city as immigrants, aging baby boomers, and young professionals move back in to cities and revitalize the decaying urban cores. Robert Fishman's research on the matter is described in his article, "The Fifth Migration," published in the Journal of the American Planning Association. Fishman spoke about his research, how the fifth migration is manifesting itself in Detroit, and how can the city take advantage of this trend. There was "Q & A" afterward and then socializing over refreshments.

"The Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation"
March 2007. Kristine Kidorf, founder of Kidorf Preservation Consulting, board member of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN), and former City of Detroit Historic Preservation Specialist presented a study that the MPHN just did on the economic impact of historic preservation. The study found that from 2002 - 05, the years of the study, $1.93 billion was added to the state's economy, and that for every $1 in credit, there was total of $11 added to the economy. The study recommends increasing the state tax credit for historic preservation to 25%, which, when coupled with the federal 20% credit, would add up to a 45% credit for a rehab project. Kidorf pointed out that since the state of Missouri enacted such a credit, not one historic building in St. Louis has been demolished.

Panel Discussion: "Current Trends in Architecture and Urban Design"
February 2007. Three area experts talked and showed slides on the current trends that are shaping big cities. The presenters were: Dorian Moore, architect and vice president at the firm Archive DS; Constance Bodurow, urban designer and principal, Design Equity Urban Design and Planning; and Michael Poris, architect and principle at the firm McIntosh Poris. It was a light-hearted, educational romp. The event was held in the historic Penobscot Building skyscraper in downtown Detroit.

2006 Annual Meeting: "Alfred Taubman, Unplugged"
December 2006. Billionaire real estate developer A. Alfred Taubman, founder of the Taubman Company, was the guest speaker at the 2006 annual meeting. The format for the meeting was unique: it was an intimate event and there was no prepared speech. People just asked questions, and this historic figure told stories about 50 years of developing, retailing, Coleman Young, and being a friend of Detroit. There was a reception afterward.

Restaurant Crawl
September 2006. More than thirty people signed up and visited Twingos, Currents by the River and Slows Bar BQ. It was a great chance to sample gourmet hors devours, English bangers and mash, and a BBQ sampler; socialize; and see these new additions to Detroit's building and restaurant scene. The chefs and area development officials spoke at each place about the food and developments taking place in the neighborhood.

How Retailers Choose Where They Will Build Stores
May 2006. MapInfo uses computers, GIS, maps and demographic data to plot out where National retailers like Home Depot, Linens 'N Things, and Pep Boys should build stores. She talked about the science of this, and also why there isn't more retail in Detroit. Her main message: National retailers have traditionally stayed away from urban areas. They are starting to venture into big cities, and their stores are making money (Home Depot's first $100 million store was in Queens, NYC). Detroit has such a bad image and reputation, they are still staying away from Detroit. It is "severely underserved."

2005 Annual Meeting: "The Detroit Riverfront: Past, Present & Future"
November 2005. The meeting, at 1515 Broadway, began with a wrap up of the current year. Some organizational changes were discussed, along with how Cityscape effectively leverages the Internet (10,000 page views & 1,000 visitors/month) to not only market itself, but also the city of Detroit. Faye Alexendar Nelson, president of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, gave the keynote address this exciting event. She talked about how the coalition was formed to get the process started. She had colorful slides and renderings of the developments that were taking place on the east riverfront. She talked about the urban planning elements that went into all of this and the plan for the west riverfront. There was Q & A, food and socializing afterwards.

Tigers Game
August 2005. Cityscape members, friends and guests attended a baseball game at Comerica Park as a light hearted, social event. People met at the restored Elwood Bar first.

Building Low and Moderate Income Housing in Detroit
June 2005. Tim Thorland, director of the Southwest Detroit Nonprofit Housing Corporation, spoke about how they build low and moderate income housing in Detroit. The SWNHP, an offshoot of Southwest Solutions, uses brownfield, historic district, and low income tax credits, HOME loans, CDBG money from the city, matching grants from MSHDA, and funds from HUD to buy vacant buildings, rehabilate them, and rent them out in the neighborhood where the average per capita income is $11,000/year. They have restored 366 housing units in 14 multi-story historic buildings totaling $45 million.

2004 Annual Meeting
December 2004. Tom Barwin, city manager of Ferndale, keynoted the event. He spoke about what the city has done to spark the downtown and housing boom the Ferndale is now experiencing. He is also trying to start a lawsuit against SEMCOG, the regional planning agency, because less populated outer ring suburbs have more board seats on SEMCOG, and therefore get a disproportional amount of Federal highway money compared to older, inner ring suburbs and Detroit. There was Q & A, food and socializing afterwards.

Tigers Game
August 2004. Cityscape members, friends and guests attended a baseball game at Comerica Park as a light hearted, social fundraiser. People met at the restored Elwood Bar first.

The Master Plan For the City of Detroit
June 2004. John Baran, a high ranking City Planner with Detroit's Planning and Development Department, gave members a preview of the new plan and the rationale for its proposed structure. The new plan will help to shape Detroit’s development for the next 10-20 years, with the update playing a vital role in steering Detroit’s redevelopment. A well designed city has a tremendous impact on how the it feels and functions.

How Architectural Salvage Can Save Detroit
Richard Cahill, of the Illinois Preservation and Conservation Association (PACA) discussed how architectural salvage can strengthen Detroit. PACA has been salvaging the fixtures of vacant buildings that were going to been torn down for over 20 years - including salvaging over 200 buildings. Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit (ASWD) and Cityscape Detroit are presenting this program. To learn more about PACA’s work, go to their web site at www.pacacc.org. ASWD is trying to replicate PACA’s successful model. The warehouse’s profits support preservation organizations and efforts within their communities.

Super Bowl XL: Building or Unbuilding Downtown
January 2004. Over 200 people attended this tremendously successful event which Cityscape co-sponsored at the Century Club. Moderated by the Free Press's Tom Walsh, a panel of experts talked about civic and political leaders' plans to demolish the vacant old buildings downtown in preparation for the Super Bowl in January of 2006. It was shown that demolishing the "dirty dozen" would cost $28 million and result in the loss of structures that could house 1800 housing units and $45 million in Federal and State development incentives.

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