A Better Idea for Detroit

During the past decade, downtown Detroit has lost so many businesses and middle-class residents to its surrounding suburbs that a local wag once cracked: "Will the last company to leave please turn off the lights?" Rather than wait for that dismal moment, Henry Ford II has a better idea. Last week he announced that the Ford Motor Co. will sponsor a $500 million development to lure people back to the center city.

The development will renovate a 28.5-acre plot on the shore of the Detroit River. Now occupied by decrepit commercial buildings, the area by 1980 will contain a soaring hotel, four office towers, apartment buildings and retail stores. To design the project, Ford has hired Architect John Portman, a vehement believer in the vitality of cities with proven experience in planning Atlanta's Peachtree Center and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center. Said Ford: "We all know what Chicago has done with its lakefront area. I think we in Detroit should be able to do at least as well along our own riverfront area."

A better comparison would be with Pittsburgh. Ford's project and Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle command views not of a shimmering lake but of busy riverfronts. Moreover, the Fords in Detroit, like the Pittsburgh Mellons, have clearly been stung by criticism that they have not done enough to stem the deterioration of the city where they base their fortunes. Henry's brother, William Clay Ford, plans to move his Detroit Lions football team to Pontiac, Mich., for example, and Ford Motor Co. is building a $750 million commercial and residential complex in nearby Dearborn. Both projects threaten to attract more businesses and people from downtown Detroit--a trend that Henry Ford II obviously hopes to diminish.

To date he has secured options on the riverfront property. Next the city must transfer its holdings to Ford Motor's Land Development Corp., which will supervise planning and construction. "The size of the development is such that no single company can handle it by itself," Ford explained. "We want and need the participation of other companies to bring the plan to reality."

Local response has already been heartening. Ford officials say that Detroit businesses have indicated interest in occupying as much as 2,000,000 of the project's 5,000,000 sq. ft. of office space. As for Detroit Mayor Roman S. Gribbs. he summed up his feelings about Ford's action in a word: "magnificent."

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