Above: Detroit’s Eastern Market. Both photos are (cc) by Etx313 on Wikimedia Commons.

Dan Carmody is president of Eastern Market Corp., which Knight Foundation supports to accelerate talent and advance opportunity in Detroit, one of 26 Knight communities.

Since completion of the 2008 Eastern Market Strategic Plan more than $40 million has been invested in infrastructure and shed improvements, new Tuesday and Sunday Markets have launched and a score of new businesses have opened.

RELATED LINK

“Detroit’s Eastern Market area to plan next stage of development with $250,000 from Knight  Foundation” – Press release (09/26/2014)

While Eastern Market District has enjoyed recent success, a new planning process is needed increase development momentum, to more deeply engage the district’s diverse stakeholders in establishing a shared vision and to identify tools to foster a vibrant, equitable and sustainable district.

The 2008 plan identified four key Eastern Market District attributes. As we begin our 2015 plan process we need to refine those descriptions:

Authenticity:  We need to enhance Eastern Market’s core function as a working food district by expanding to provide large-footprint sites for new food processing and distribution facilities.

Connectivity: The completion of the Dequindre Cut and Midtown Loop Greenways will greatly enhance non-motorized connections, but continuing to repair the street grid around the market—including the potential realignment of I-375 and Vernor Highway—is imperative to reconnecting the market district to adjacent neighborhoods.

Diversity: While the market is food-centric, new uses including loft housing and arts-related uses have increased over the past few years. Continuing to blend a wide variety of uses, while maintaining credibility as a working food district, needs careful attention.

Density: Abandoned packing plants are primed for redevelopment while vacant land needs to be assembled and made ready for new development.  We need innovative solutions for renewable energy, storm water management and routing of commercial vehicles to improve life-cycle costs to owners and assure nearby development of other uses.

In addition to these attributes, the 2015 planning process has further opportunity:

Catalyst Projects: Key redevelopment / development sites need deeper assessment to identify how signature developments at those sites can best propel the market district. These projects will also help connect the district to downtown on the west, Lafayette Park to the south and neighborhoods to the east.

Development Tools: Preliminary work has been done to revise land use regulations for the district, to establish a targeted redevelopment area, and to develop a district approach to storm water management. Completing this work and examining other options to improve the district’s ability to foster new development is another essential plan element.

Here at Eastern Market Corp., the nonprofit that shepherds Eastern Market District development, we’re grateful for Knight Foundation support, and we are excited to leverage that support to assemble a team of national and local experts to work in tandem with our many stakeholders to hone a compelling, shared vision for the district’s future.