Detroit’s Q*Bert-esque convention center has been named after former Mayor Albert Cobo since it opened in 1960. That’s set to change, with today’s announcement that the authority that runs Cobo awarded naming rights to Chemical Bank for $1.5 million per year for 22 years.
Mayor Mike Duggan has said for years that he thinks the convention center should be renamed, and on today’s show, we fill in the why.
Jer speaks with local historian and writer Ken Coleman about Cobo’s complicated and divisive legacy, and what was behind the decision to rename the building that bears his name.
Also:
- The nonprofit small-business incubator Ponyride is moving out of its Corktown building.
- And a new study of urban real estate finds that home prices increased faster in Detroit than in any other big city in North America. But there are qualifications.
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