{"id":2401,"date":"2019-09-14T00:32:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T21:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2019-09-14T00:32:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T21:32:20","slug":"east-dearborns-downtown-dda-director-tells-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/east-dearborns-downtown-dda-director-tells-all\/","title":{"rendered":"East Dearborn\u2019s Downtown: DDA Director Tells All"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brain stone<\/strong>
\nYAN – Dearborn<\/strong><\/p>\n

We sat down with Cristina Sheppard-Decius, head of the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority inside Art Space \u2013 the unique art lofts in the former Dearborn City Hall.
\nWe spent almost a full hour talking about East Dearborn and the future for Dearborn development on the East End in a wide-ranging interview that covered the challenges and opportunities that remain for East Dearborn. Sheppard-Decius was relaxed and assertive throughout the interview, with a knack for the details and a refreshing frankness about the headwinds facing East Dearborn\u2019s Downtown.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: What are some of the things you think are going to be positive that will benefit the community in East Dearborn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of things going on physically in terms of some of the improvements we\u2019re planning and in our marketing, which we\u2019re doing more and more of each year.
\nThere\u2019s a lot more businesses that are starting to come in and it\u2019s great to have some spaces that people can come into… Right now, we\u2019ve been working with a number of new businesses, like KidKadia, which is great, because we have a lot of kids in this area and they\u2019re great for both the adult and the kid.
\nWe have a couple of new businesses that have opened over the last year, like Peacock Cafe, which is new Indian Food, which is great, and we have Now Cafe, which took over M&M, and they have new ownership.
\nWe\u2019re investing in the street-scape, and in some instances those large planters have prevented businesses from having an outdoor cafe, so we\u2019re actually looking at reducing those, and making it available. We\u2019re looking at a tree well plan for Michigan Avenue, where we would change those things out to help businesses add more business to their outside areas.
\nWe\u2019re starting to change over some of the plant materials that either needed to be replaced or areas where beds needed to be addressed, and over the last year the DDA\u2019s have invested more and more in that into particular, but we\u2019re also looking to add trees to Schaefer in areas where there are no trees. We\u2019re also updating some of the older light poles, since some of them don\u2019t work, and those replacements will be done this fall, with LED lights. Conserving energy \u2013 as a city and DDA – we\u2019re trying really hard to be sustainable<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: It seems like we\u2019re taking it as it goes with business owners opening up in East Dearborn, but there aren\u2019t any plans to bring in a business with 100 to 250 new employees to create the growth that existed before Arts Space. Is there anything you\u2019re planning on to bring in that growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, at the corner of the Dearborn Town Center, where Beaumont was [the former Montgomery Ward building], they\u2019ve moved out as well. That\u2019s an area where \u2013 it\u2019s 140,000 square feet \u2013 and very little of it is occupied. So that\u2019s something where we\u2019re working with [the owner] to try to get a new business in there. Now, we do know that the main floor, the commercial floor, could be multiple tenants, and I know the Mayor has met with them about that specifically. That is something that, after a lot of the changes [Beaumont has] gone through, they\u2019re able to circle back around and look at what they\u2019re doing [in East Dearborn.] We\u2019re also working with the property owner. And so, with the three, I think that\u2019s a good sign that will happen. Is there something planned and on the books yet? No, not yet. But I think it\u2019s moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: Have you heard of any talks with any large corporations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They have, but those haven\u2019t worked out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: What do you think is impeding people wanting to jump into a space like that in East Dearborn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, for one, the office market in Southeast Michigan is still not a big market, and in many ways, the office market is contracting \u2013 they\u2019re moving into new areas. So, on the one hand there\u2019s competition, but that competition can be a good thing, because a lot of businesses are moving into Detroit, and many are now realizing they can\u2019t move into Detroit [because of rising rent prices] and so that\u2019s an opportunity for us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: What makes East Dearborn a place that someone would want to choose over Warren, Ferndale or Royal Oak?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can tell you, in regards to office space, a place like Ferndale doesn\u2019t even have stock. We have buildings in pretty good shape, and they might need a face lift, but they are in good shape. We have flexibility, too \u2013 we can go big, but we can also go small. Many property owners, like Fish Net Studios \u2013 above the fish market, he went in and renovated the upper floor and turned them into artist suites. They\u2019re all booked \u2013 they\u2019re all full. And that\u2019s what it\u2019s about: re-imagining what our spaces can be, and one thing for the East Dearborn, we really want this to be an arts and culture space.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: Isn\u2019t a challenge in making [East Dearborn] an arts space, is that we also built up this massive performing arts center in the middle of nowhere? The gravity moved from a walkable area with the former city hall, to this area where it\u2019s like a concrete desert with parking spaces. If you could play God, would you change that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was years ago, and so you look at: what are the opportunities you have in front of you now? Between East and West Downtown, there is that middle space, and I think we\u2019re thinking about how to connect that space. So there is the physical aspect \u2013 connecting it with infrastructure, investment, and multiple modes of transportation \u2013 and then also taking a look at the social side of things. Whether you\u2019re in the East or West, we want to take away that social divide and make sure people feel there\u2019s a lot of things to do in Dearborn, and you can go East or West.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

YAN: Have you had any discussions about bringing in Arab Performances and performance artists in the East Dearborn downtown?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jazz on the Ave is a big popular [performance] that draws in thousands of people, and we feel it\u2019s important for the notoriety of the downtown, and it\u2019s a good building block for others to follow after. In the sense that, it took a few years to build up thousands of people coming to it, and so [now we\u2019re] looking at, what other [performances] could we be doing in the park to activate that space? One of the things [that\u2019s coming up], even though it\u2019s geared for families, is we do our trick or treat event, and we do pumpkin carving, to engage the residents and enjoy the downtown.<\/p>\n

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