Hi, it's Jer. We made it to Thursday!

I started the day at the Downtown Detroit Partnership Spring Forum in Eastern Market, where they spent some time talking about the future of a neighborhood that's watched across the state.

A big focus was the RenCen, as representatives from General Motors and Bedrock talked about their vision for the future.

We knew that the RenCen is on the path to losing two towers, but gaining a lot of green space — and as they envision it, a "Navy Pier in Chicago" style riverfront area to replace the asphalt sea of mostly unused parking lots near an otherwise excellent amenity, the RiverWalk.

It may be an unpopular opinion, but when I've visited other cities? One thing that it's clear that our riverfront misses is more stuff to do like restaurants, vendors, galleries and more.

I learned that there are plans to include an observation deck at the top of the Renaissance Center.

Also, the three towers that are to be saved? Their internal operation systems are going to need to be gutted and replaced, regardless.

The Detroit Marriott hotel in the center tower may look different too. Although an impressive location, the rooms are showing their age and it needs an update.

As a refresher, one of the remaining mid-size RenCen towers would become higher-end offices and the other residential.

There are still a lot of details to work out. Things like subsidies, specifically a Transformational Brownfield credit. That, like many modern incentives, wouldn't be a bag of cash handed over — but discounts on future revenue generated from the new project that proponents argue wouldn't be there.

In other news, a dozen green spaces in downtown were also added to the management of the Partnership (pictured above).

There was an update on the goal of the Downtown Detroit Partnership to get to 10,000 residential units.

Right now, there's a little more than 6,700 of them, including 680+ recently completed and another 680+ underway. A clear point was that the future of downtown Detroit would be more residential, as the office market has changed.

That, and if you look at recent news — companies like Rocket are reducing headcount by using A.I. while returning to profitability.

A Local Lens On National News

💸 It's been rapid-fire updates with the trade war in the opening stages between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A one-month pause has been put into place for automotive trade (technically, the stuff that's compliant with the USMCA that the current president negotiated).

🛻 But it doesn't ease overall fears. MichAuto, a trade association, said in a statement that the "damage has already been done."

For an industry that operates in three-to-five-year product cycles, this level of day-to-day uncertainty is debilitating.

🏛️ The Republican mayor of Rochester Hills told Bloomberg "We didn't budget for this" when it comes to additional project costs for materials sourced from Mexico and Canada. [Bloomberg]

🏷️ Three local Federal properties — including the Rosa Parks Federal Building on Michigan Avenue —that were listed for sale as part of a 443 property portfolio have been taken off the market (for now). [Crain's Detroit Business]

🇺🇦 Michigan residents rallied to support Ukraine earlier this week. [PBS Detroit] You might not know there's more than 36,000 people of Ukrainian descent here, and thousands of war refugees that have been taken in — who may have their legal status revoked. [Reuters]

What to know

🗳️ Republican Former Detroit Police Department chief James Craig has filed paperwork to run for Mayor of Detroit. [Fox 2 Detroit]

🗳️ Detroiter and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II will be throwing his hat in the ring for Governor. [Detroit one million]

🚏 Just one of out 20 Detroit bus stops have shelters, and 1.5% have benches. [Bridge Detroit]

🎨 Detroit's Corktown is the "most coveted creative community" in Michigan, according to a survey by Brotherly Love. It comes in at #46 overall, ahead of Grand Rapids Arts District (#55) and Kerrytown in Ann Arbor (#90).

About Corktown they wrote:

Corktown is Detroit’s oldest neighborhood and has become a thriving creative district. With its mix of historic architecture and innovative spaces, Corktown is home to art galleries, music venues, and creative startups. Street art and murals add to the area’s appeal, while events like the Detroit Design Festival spotlight the city’s artistic revival.

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Where to go

⛓️ There's an... ahem.. interesting estate sale this weekend at the home of the former long-time owner of Noir Leather. IYKYK. [Metro Times]

🔥 Lebanese Redhead Hot Sauce is doing a pop-up at Two Birds on Saturday, March 8 from 5-10pm. On the menu will be Kafta & Batata, Kusa Bil Laban, and Potato Soufflé. [More]

🤨 Suck it, Trebek! Jeopardy-style trivia at the High Dive in Hamtramck on Sunday, March 9. Kicks off at 7pm. [More]

📌 Put a pin in your calendar, as the Marche du Nain Rouge is back March 23! I've gone a few times and have had a fun time. [More]

Please consider taking our Spring survey! As a small, independent, locally-funded project your feedback really helps us serve you better.

That's it for today. Thanks so much for your time, attention, and for letting me in your inbox.

Remember that you are somebody,

-Jer