At least the city building employees will hace somewhere close for their all-day snacking.

When you are down there during lunch time, do you ever notice that they take their hour +, then bring their lunches back to eat at their desks?

Definitely time to use time cards and time clocks in the building.

No harm in a little record-keeping and timeliness!

Imagine all of those extra runs to UDF!

But---what happens when the city building moves out to the east end?

Now--let's get to the cold honesly of these efforts and the situation:

The MCF and the Chamber continually trumpet the value,efforts and future of the area formerly known as "downtown", while we both know that the MCF and the Chamber would both like to leave that area for greener pastures. The MCF has a sweet deal to stay in the Manchester for now, while the Chamber can't get anyone to take their building.

Despite constructions,de-constructions, road changes, new facades, new businsesses(most quickly gone after a short but painful financial experience) and a LOT of granted monies, our area formerly known as "downtown" looks worse than ever, and is more disfunctional than ever. We have spent tens of millions of $$$ to look as badly as we look now, with the meaningful activity level being more depressed than the appearance.

The current effort to remove Family Services, the Hope House and the govt.assistance agencies might be somewhat misguided, because that area has become the closest and most convenient area for these services to be provided. Plus, these facilities are the ONLY locations attracting any activity, also currently located. It MIGHT WELL be the higher end locations that are out of place, and that area might be best utilized by these social services made necessary by our city-created glut of Section 8 housing, companioned with a serious lack of meaningful employment(AND a work force incapable of fulfilling meaningful employment).

we simply can't continue to blindly throw money at these deep issues, hoping that SOMETHING will miraculously work.

Still--the MCF and you hardly caused any of this, and MCF is a top shelf community volunteer organization serving the needy.

Detroit Shrinks Itself, Historic Homes and All

DETROIT—Wrecking crews are preparing to tear down a landmark 5,000-square-foot house in the posh neighborhood of Palmer Woods in the coming weeks, a sign that Detroit is finally getting serious about razing thousands of vacant and abandoned structures across the city.

In leveling 1860 Balmoral Drive, the boyhood home of one-time presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Detroit is losing a small piece of its history. But the project is part of a demolition effort that is just now gaining momentum and could help define the city's future.

Detroit is finally chipping away at a glut of abandoned homes that has been piling up for decades, and intends to take advantage of warm weather and new federal funding to demolish some 3,000 buildings by the end of September.

Mitt Romney's boyhood home is among 3,000 derelict structures Detroit plans to demolish by the end of September as it attacks blight and crime.

Mayor Dave Bing has pledged to knock down 10,000 structures in his first term as part of a nascent plan to "right-size" Detroit, or reconfigure the city to reflect its shrinking population.

When it's all over, said Karla Henderson, director of the Detroit Building Department, "There's going to be a lot of empty space."

Mr. Bing hasn't yet fully articulated his ultimate vision for what comes after demolition, but he has said entire areas will have to be rebuilt from the ground up. For now, his plan calls for the tracts to be converted to other uses, such as parks or farms.

Even when the demolitions are complete, Detroit will still have a huge problem on its hands. The city has roughly 90,000 abandoned or vacant homes and residential lots, according to Data Driven Detroit, a nonprofit that tracks demographic data for the city.

After a stuttering start, caused by a dispute over the disposal of asbestos from demolished homes, the program is just now gaining pace.

City officials say they aren't sure how many structures ultimately need to be torn down. The mortgage crisis compounded Detroit's economic decline, leaving nearly 30% of the city's housing stock vacant, according to Data Driven Detroit.

"Neighborhoods that are considered stable are now at 20% vacancy," said Deborah Younger, a development consultant involved in the demolition effort.

Until recently, the city didn't have the funds to tackle its growing list of houses slated for demolition. But $20 million in federal funds, primarily stimulus dollars has helped to kick-start the effort.

Demolition, particularly of historic buildings, is a sensitive issue in Detroit, often leading to wrenching battles between developers, residents, city officials and preservationists. But many residents are now pleading with the city to tear down decaying structures that are attracting crime and repelling home buyers. However, some still worry that the sort of large-scale bulldozing that the city is now talking about will forcibly dislocate longtime homeowners and preclude any chance of a comeback for Detroit.

"The city has never done this before," says Ms. Henderson, the Building Department chief. "We had to make a culture change."

The demolition of the Romney family home is the first of its kind in Palmer Woods, a high-end enclave in northwest Detroit that was developed at the dawn of the U.S. auto industry and housed many of its pioneers. Palmer Woods has just a handful of vacant properties among its 292 homes, according to residents. It's one of the anchor neighborhoods that is critical to the success of Mayor Bing's right-sizing effort.

Swallen's Building - Walter Leap said he had four quilified buyers over the years for the Swallen's Building and the City turned down all the deals...now we the citizens get to foot the bill for the million dollar demo bond.

I have also been told that the bank building has now been offered to the Middletown Historical Society. Was this building ever put up for sell by Mr. Thatcher?

Bike Path - Vet I believe if the City buys all his frontage to the property his property will then be landlocked and therefore he will not be able to build on it. The value of his property will go down and the only people that he can sell the rest of his property to are his neighbors on each side. He stated before council that he didn't want to sell his property beacause he wanted to build on it later....Keep your eye on this deal.