Cullen, chairman of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy and chairman of the quasi-public Michigan Economic Development Corp., made the remarks during a lecture at Wayne State University in Detroit. In his "day" job, Cullen is the general manager of the economic development & enterprise group for General Motors, where he is overseeing, among other things, GM's ongoing reworking of the Renaissance Center Downtown.
Cullen said several components of the plan to recreate the Detroit Riverfront, first announced in December 2002 and to which some $250 million in public and private funds have been committed, are taking shape.
A 25-acre parcel owned by GM immediately east of the RenCen will be the subject of an RFP in the next two months or so. Cullen envisions a mixed-use multi-story office retail building there. GM and the city are each building a parking deck nearby. A ribbon cutting is expected in late May for the 31-acre TriCentennial State Park being created along the Detroit River. The city is also expected to put out RFPs within two months for industrial redevelopment of the former Uniroyal tire plant along the river.
In addition, construction is to be completed by mid-summer on the GM Plaza and Promenade that is to be located between the RenCen and the river. Work is also starting soon on the RiverWalk component of the project, and is to be completed by the time the Super Bowl is played in Detroit in early 2006. Design work is under way and construction should start next year on a new Port Authority building and terminal for the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority. Also, the "Visioning" work is under way for the west portion of the riverfront, roughly from Cobo Center to the Ambassador Bridge.
"The Detroit Riverfront has been industrial or post-industrial for 300 years," Cullen said. "This is our chance to create what it will look like for the next 300 years."
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