Hey friends, Jer here.
It was my birthday this week. I think back to the Detroit I knew, lived in, and worked in 25 years ago.
How much change there has been to the city I know, live in, and work in today.
An example. My birthday drink was at Kamper's Rooftop Lounge. That's atop the pedestal of the Book Building and Tower, built more than 100 years ago. The bar was straight out of a high-end architectural centerfold, complete with wide views of downtown.
That view includes the Hudson's Tower, a full circle moment for me as one of my first media jobs was at WDIV-TV4. The first major thing I worked on was the demolition of the old department store on that spot.
Is it different than the old building? For sure. But does it put a piece back into place, centering downtown back on that spot again? Yes.
The Book Tower is a far cry from when I visited the building a quarter century ago. The floor where this glass art is was a giant open-air pigeon roost. This beauty was completely covered up, dirty and damaged.
I remember seeing the other side of this ceiling back in the day, and losing my mind that anyone would think that's how we respect our city.
Anyway, cheers to (solidly) over 40 years. Still alive. Still kicking.
As always, my thoughts on stories are in italics.
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👀 Eye Spy
CommodiTeas is coming to the West Village neighborhood of Detroit. Thanks to Randy Walker for sharing on our member-only Discord. After being in pop-up phase for awhile, they'll be taking over the spot that housed Frenchie's sandwich shop at 8100 Kercheval. It's across the street from the much-lauded Sister Pie.
📰 What to know
🚐 The City of Detroit will launch a free autonomous and fully electric pilot shuttle service called "The Connect" this Tuesday, August 13.
The shuttle will operate on a 10.8 mile loop route from Corktown through downtown Detroit to the East Jefferson Riverfront, with shuttles arriving every 10-15 minutes during peak hours. Some notable stops include Michigan Central, Campus Martius, and Rivertown Market.
To start, the shuttles will be operated by a human to adjust to operations and verify autonomous features. A safety operator will always be present.
The project partners include the City of Detroit, Bedrock, Michigan Central, and the State of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. Perrone Robotics will provide the autonomous vehicle technology.
The service is free and will operate from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Riders can track the shuttles in real-time through this link.
We'll be talking about this on tomorrow's Daily Detroit podcast, and we plan on taking a spin on this thing next week.
🚏 Meanwhile, a third of Detroit's buses are out of service, causing skipped buses and delays. This shortage reportedly impacts around 96 out of the 292 buses in fleet. It's blamed on delayed bus replacements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortage has led to extended wait times and increased stress for bus operators. [Detroit News]
Detroit plans to receive 45 new buses by next spring and summer.
I'm probably one of the few writers about Detroit stuff who semi-regularly hops on a bus, and lemme tell ya.. there needs to be a solution found closer than 2025 or 2026.
What I've personally seen many times on a busy line like Woodward is a bus will skip, then the next bus will be jam-packed and slow. Meanwhile, the suburban buses will roll by with plenty of room and speed; but because we have two separate systems that barely work together, we can't re-allocate to where the need is.
🚍 Up in the suburbs, there's a new contract between SMART (the suburban bus system) and drivers that includes a 32% pay raise. That'll mean long-term employees will see wages north of $32 an hour, among the highest in the state. [Freep] [SMART]
🗳️ Will Detroit turn out for Kamala Harris? Voter turnout in the city of Detroit was anemic for the primary. We discuss this, as well as the race we think that failed U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper could have won, on our latest episode of the show. [Daily Detroit]
🕵️ Another invasive species is in Michigan. The Spotted Lanternfly is making inroads in the state, including Metro Detroit. We talked with an expert about how to find it and take it out. [Daily Detroit]
💝 Beloved local chocolatier Bon Bon Bon is expanding to Boston. Over the years they've found a lot of success in Detroit, Ferndale, and Ann Arbor. [Instagram]
🏟️ Companies tied to Detroit City FC bought even more land around their proposed stadium site in Corktown. Crain’s reports they’ve picked up an additional 8.25 acres for $6 million. This expansion brings their total to nearly 14 acres, including a 250,000-square-foot abandoned hospital slated for demolition to make way for a 14,000-seat stadium. [Crain’s Detroit]
🧱 Michigan Central Station has seen more than 100,000 visitors since its grand reopening in June, and due to popular demand will be extending public viewing through Labor Day weekend.
The Station will offer expanded hours on September 1 and 2. Self-guided tours will continue every Friday and Saturday until August 31. Future guided tour options will be announced soon.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading — and be sure to tell a friend about these notes!
Remember that you are somebody,
-Jer