Friday, May 25, 2007

Running the River

ahh yes, Detroit's greatest and until now most underused asset is the river... i just love going down there in the summer... i recently found out that they opened a YMCA in the RenCen so the wife and i have been going there a lot because it's less busy than the Boll Family Y and the RenCen one has newer machines... not to mention it has a decent view of the river!!! however, when i workout down at the RenCen i don't do my cardio inside, instead i run the river!!! very cool!!!

a few days ago i ran at around noon and it was great because all the folks from GM were out on lunch and the riverwalk was fairly well populated!!! i just love being around people, even if i don't know them, so it was a great experience... i really believe it's only a matter of time before the river becomes THE place to go in Detroit...

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Bureau of Urban Living

the Bureau of Urban Living is a cute little place inside the Canfield Lofts on Canfield just east of Second... to be honest, the first time i checked it out i was a little disappointed because it's just so small... i walked around it and saw some little knick knacks here and there that were pretty cool... however, i went back a second time and checked it out yesterday as i was given a gift card there and i realized that the place is pretty cool... they've got a lot of things that can make a loft cooler than it already it is... yesterday the wife and i went and found a few things that we want to pick up once they come back in stock... add in the fact that it's right around the corner and it makes the place pretty sweet... i wish it was bigger and had more product, but i recommend checking it out... i don't doubt that you'll find something you'll like...

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

CMP love

i know i post on here a lot about Campus Martius Park, but it really is da bomb!!! after working out at the Y i always drive around it, even though it's totally out of the way... this afternoon it is filled with people of different ages, ethnicities and economic strata... it was a serene feeling during my short drive around CMP... it was like "all was well in the world"... ha...

another thought i've had recently is that Willis between Cass and Woodward prolly has more broken glass on it than any other street in the world... that's prolly an exaggeration, but it seems like the whole street is lined with broken glass (the likely result of multiple car burglaries/thefts)... i walk that street at least once a week and yesterday i had the privelege of seeing some guy pee on someone elses car... at first i thought it was his car and he was just looking at the car (stupid me)but then i recognized his posture (the peeing posture: legs slightly bent, back slightly reclined and/or slouched)... this was basically on the corner of Woodward and Willis... sheesh!!! the guy had no shame as he looked directly at me during and after his relief... whatever... i suppose it gives character to the city??? yeah, that's a nice spin...

Thursday, May 03, 2007

mini D-velopment tour

the other day the wife and i took a drive around town to glance at the developments and all that's going on in the D...

after a nice workout at the Y we made our way towards the RenCen to drive Atwater/the riverfront... we were particularly interested in seeing Asian Village (corner of Atwater and Beaubien) because they were supposed to open on May 1, but that obviously hasn't happened... it looks pretty far along, but i wish they'd open up already... i've been waiting over a year for that place to open!!! we then drove further down Atwater towards what will be the riverfront's new Rivard Plaza... they're working on the carousel that's supposed to be accessible come June... that'll be nice... furher east we went to spy where the Atwater Lofts and Watermark Loft developments will hopefully be springing up within the next year or so... i would LOVE to live in either of those communities... hopefully i'll have some cash in my pocket by then!!! we took Atwater all the way to Jos Compau and re-reminded ourselves that we have to checkout the Atwater Block Brewery sometime as well as the other fine establishments on that little strip...

from Jos Campau we went back to Jefferson and headed back west to go straight north on Woodward... we got a good look at the Vinton Building... looks like their ground floor is almost done... as we headed north, i realized that i'll never get tired of driving around Campus Martius Park... i just love that fountain and what the park itself represents... 1001 Woodward is another place i would LOVE to live... up through the Fox Center/Stadium district we went and then we hung a right on Winder to stroll through Brush Park... in 10 years, Brush Park is going to be one of the finest neighborhoods in the city... those mansions are just plain incredible... and yes, i'd LOVE to live in one of those too...

from Brush Park the wife and i then went up Woodward over to north Midtown, just above the Cass Corridor (where we live actually)... on our way there we past the Ellington, which is an awesome building. but doesn't seem as full as it should be or as full as it says it is (70%)... anyways, in north Midtown i was a little disappointed to see the Nine on Third project... it's kinda ugly, but it's better than something abandoned... the Springfield Lofts (Second and Alexandrine) are pretty sweet, but the neighborhood there still needs some developing... the Elmoore and the Alex (i think that's what they're called) condo/loft developments are supposed to go up across the street from the Springfield Lofts, but they've been saying that for a while... the Willys Overland Lofts seem to be well underway and it's a pretty big project... those are going to be some pretty sweet lofts when they're done... in my own building, the Stuberstone we're having a tenant move in downstairs, i think... i wish they'd move in already so that we could know what to expect... prolly a doctor's office... i think they were wanting a restaurant, but i think i'd rather have a doctor's office... across the street is what was once called the Auburn Lofts... i think they decided not to make the building into lofts anymore and i'm not sure if they have any tenants for that one either... maybe???

all in all, it was an encouraging look at the D... but only if you have the eyes to see it...

p.s. i was too lazy to posts links for this entry... sorry...