You are probably thinking to yourself, surely that headline is a misprint, right? Ten years ago, the city of Detroit had an empty downtown, high crime, had lost half its population to outward migration and capped off its downward spiral with the declaration of bankruptcy. The city was effectively dead. Last month, the Wall Street Journal published an article highlighting the remarkable revitalization that has occurred in Detroit over the past several years, spurred on through a partnership of private investment and good governance (“Reversing the real estate doom loop is possible,” April 22). Springfield should take the lessons learned in Detroit and apply similar principles to revitalize our own downtown.
Detroit has seen a 40% increase in the value of home prices since 2020, as detailed in the WSJ article. The number of new apartments in the downtown area has more than doubled in the last 10 years. New retail stores are opening downtown, commercial buildings are maintaining their historic integrity while receiving modern-day renovations and companies such as General Motors are moving their offices back to the city center.
Dan Gilbert, co-founder of Rocket Mortgage and a Detroit native, was highlighted in the article for his civic-mindedness and investment in Detroit. He moved the Rocket mortgage offices from the suburbs into the city and invested his wealth into purchasing vacant properties with the intent of turning the spaces into new residential apartments, stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. Investing in a bankrupt city required a boldness and vision for future prosperity – a gamble which appears to be paying off for Gilbert and Detroit as demonstrated by the city’s recent hosting of the 2024 NFL draft downtown.
Private investment works when it goes hand-in-hand with good governance. Developers, businesses and new residents wouldn’t have moved into downtown if the city of Detroit hadn’t provided security, made necessary infrastructure investments and provided the financial incentives to create future growth opportunities.
Springfield finds itself in a similar position to Detroit’s plight several years ago. Although not near bankruptcy, many commercial buildings stand vacant in downtown, along with residential homes the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. Residents and businesses are moving to the county or out of state to lower tax havens. However, opportunities still abound in Springfield for a turnaround.
Taking a page from Detroit’s playbook, business leaders need to be willing to gamble their wealth on commercial and residential investments downtown. Residents won’t move downtown unless there are new apartments to live in, restaurants to dine at, and venues which provide entertainment. Likewise, the city of Springfield can set economic conditions to financially incentivize new business openings, attract out-of-state residents and tourists and build infrastructure to adapt to the new realities facing post-COVID city centers.
A determined partnership of bold, civic-minded private-sector leaders willing to reinvest in downtown, combined with healthy, farsighted governance, can turn the tide in Springfield.
Christian Ryan, born and raised in Springfield, hopes to see the return of a thriving downtown.
This article appears in Summerguide 2024.
Christian excellently expressed, and I look forward to visiting Detroit! Dan Carmody is a former Rock Island, Illinois, economic developer. I think he may have served as a consultant on one of the downtown Springfield redevelopment projects. I am aware that he made a substantial contribution to Detroit’s downtown. There are several government grants available through HUD and Main Street chances; you don’t even need to travel to Detroit to find them. As opposed to Springfield, you can see substantial downtowns in Peoria, Rock Island, and Moline. Regrettably, the landlords of properties in downtown are content with the status quo and do not want anything changed. These landowners provide leases of state office space and parking spots for their employees at little or no overhead expense to them. Some of the buildings don’t even have potable water. In my opinion city politicians they support comply.Â
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Unfortunately, in the case of Springfield, revitalizing downtown has become a political issue and not one of growth. Contributors and supporters of the current status quo have incentivized our city’s leadership to not take action and to accept the current money-making strategy of commercial landowners. The only remedy is for the people to De incentivize our city leaders from this course of action by voting them out of office. Many voters will continue to vote against their own best interests for political party loyalty, although this is illogical and robs their children and grandchildren of a vital and interesting city to enjoy and benefit from. We need to make sure we know our candidates position and intentions regarding downtown before we vote and hold them to their stated goals. Our future cannot be sacrificed to political intentions or greed anymore. We must act for the future and for those who rely on us to do the right thing.