Dearborn’s East Business District Moves Along
We talk a lot on these pages about the news in Dearborn’s west business district but there is a great deal quietly taking place on the east side that sometimes gets overshadowed.
Raad Alawan, editor of Dearborn’s Your Community Voice recently caught up with Michael Boettcher, executive director of the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority,for a look at what’s happening in east Dearborn. 
Beyond the medical center groundbreaking in May at Michigan and Schaefer on the former Wards site (scheduled for completion in 2010), Boettcher sees the growth opportunity along Schaefer, north of Michigan Avenue, which years ago was the heart of the east Dearborn downtown.
Below are quotes from Boettcher in his interview with Your Community Voice:
• Long term, what I see happening is the head of the district moving to the block of Schaefer north of Michigan Avenue. It’s a little less noisy, busy and congested than Michigan Avenue. Schaefer allows for better window shopping. It could be similar to downtown Ferndale at Nine Mile and Woodward, where they narrowed it to two moving lanes, parking on both sides, and managed to bump out the sidewalks to make enough room for outdoor seating.
• We have a functional downtown with a wide variety of business types. But I think we need the kind of businesses where people like to stroll and do window shopping. That’s what I’d like to see happen on Schaefer, where it can happen most naturally. That may mean some of the service businesses moving back to the upper floors or outer storefronts.
• I think this neighborhood has that much potential. This was downtown for decades. We had three department stores, a movie theater, City Hall of course. We had as much commercial use as a shopping mall. People knew this neighborhood, and still do.
• This past year, we did a promotion campaign with the tagline “See the World in One Mile.” Within walking distance, there’s Italian, Chinese, Polish, Arab, Tai, Greek, and all types of different foods. And the Arab American Museum has all different kinds of concerts on Thursdays. There are a lot of opportunities for a lot of cross-cultural experience in the neighborhood, and that’s what we want to tout. It was pretty successful. We heard back from businesses. Someone went into Alcamo’s after hearing one of the radio spots where they were one of the featured businesses and made a huge purchase. And they had never been there before, loved it, and said they’ll be back.
• From our survey, we found a lot of people go to city hall to pay taxes or take care of other city business. The medical center (at 5050 Schaefer) is a big draw. The museum ranks highly in terms of what people like and reasons to come (downtown). We found others like restaurants, ethnic food and shopping. Kroger was another big draw, until they closed (in November 2008) at Schaefer and Colson. They didn’t want to operate two stores so close to each other, and Greenfield has better traffic counts than Schaefer. There is specific interest in the Kroger property, but it’s preliminary at this point. I think we need to maintain that as a grocery store. It’s a great anchor.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I love “east” Dearborn and frequent its establishments. However, it still rankles me that there is no paid parking required there. Why not? I would bet the city actually could make money there, as on any given day there is far more traffic than on the west side of town..
While this would not save me any money, it sure would to a long way to defusing the paid parking controversy. I don’t buy into the argument that merchants already pay for it.
I wonder if the real reason is that it could be unenforceable, as history has shown an abundance of vehicles registered to someone other than the drivers, who probably wouldn’t pay the fines anyway..
Comments?
March 31st, 2009 at 7:58 am
School Mom,
Couple of reasons there is not paid parking in “east” Dearborn. The business owners here decided to keep paying the SAD = Special Assessment District fees, which means the businesses finance their customers free parking when it comes to city owned lots. There may be a few private lots as well that business owners or landlords own that they maintain free for customers as well.
There are both situations as well in “west” Dearborn. In the New Place Lounge area the businesses there agreed to pay the SAD’s, therefore customers park free. Newmans lots in front of the ACO building nearest Michigan Avenue are owned by Newman and he allows his customers to park for free. Westborn is the same situation.
The rest of “west” Dearborn lots, pretty much had business owners and/or landlords that did not want to continue to pay the SAD’s, therefore user paid parking was initiated over 2 years ago.
I’m sure LX even can explain this in further detail if I have missed something.
March 31st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
You can b.s. the people with all the b.s. about why Krogers closed, but everybody knows it was because of Walmarts, and not the competing Krogers, on Greenfield. Shop for an anchor store to build around City of Dearborn, or else the strip on Schaefer will die. West Dearborn is on life support now, so don’t wait too long.
April 1st, 2009 at 12:27 am
“Within walking distance, there’s Italian, Chinese, Polish, Arab, Tai, Greek, and all types of different foods. And the Arab American Museum has all different kinds of concerts on Thursdays. There are a lot of opportunities for a lot of cross-cultural experience in the neighborhood, and that’s what we want to tout. It was pretty successful.”
Seriously, who writes for this guy, Micheal Boettcher? He’s specific enough to mention the different types of culinary treats and finishes it off with “all types of different foods?” “All different kinds of concerts on Thursdays?” How about some specifics with regards to ethnicity of various types of concerts. What kind of foot traffic can the Arab Museum generate? With the heavily traveled thoroughfare of Michigan Ave., what kind of foot traffic will it generate considering the traffic congestion and auto emissions? The same goes for Schaefer.
East Dearborn is looking more and more like a 3rd world country making an attempt at evolution. Thankfully we have dependable electricity to supply the businesses and homes unlike many of the sister-cities in the Middle East. The time has come for Dearborn (East AND West) to say enough is enough.
The cost of printing many city documents & publications in English AND Arabic has become prohibitive considering current budgetary constraints. Many of our forefathers utilized the clubs such as Italian-American, German-American, and Irish-American, to name a few, for translation and support. What the heck is the purpose of all these Arab-American organizations, anyway?
I’m tired of the local “Tale of Two Cities” and it’s costing the taxpayers way more than you may think. I advise everyone to research the city’s, and more importantly the Dearborn Public School District’s, budget allotments for these programs. You will be stunned! Let’s end the Tale once and for all and get back to basics. It’s really not that hard to “just say no.” Unless, of course, you’re afraid of being labeled a racist or anti-arab. Remember this; with civil rights come civil responsibilities!
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
There are certainly some real gems in East Dearborn. The Arab American National Museum, Liberati’s, Gracie See, Green Brain Comics, Retro Image Antiques, Alcamo’s, Shatila, Al Ameer, New Yasmeen Bakery and Jim’s Place Restaurant all come to mind.
But I do think the neighborhoods are in decline (at least my old neighborhoods on Mead and again on Ternes look much worse than they did 15 years ago). The aggressive removal of trees and homes and businesses festooned with 5 or 6 satellite dishes don’t help. At least, not to my eyes.
And I find some of the architecture to be downright nasty. The corner of Chase and Warren is particularly hideous, and I wonder how some of this junk got past our city’s checks and balances.
All that being said, it appears to be a thriving district. People are walking along the streets and customers are in the stores (even if they are mostly junky cellphone stores). West Dearborn is a comparative ghost town.
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Having lived on both sides of town, I would be embarrassed to bring visitors to the west side business district, where vacant buildings and parking meters stalked by traffic cops are the norm, but would be proud to show them the east side business district.
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Absolutely preposterous, Mom. Your obvious disdain for the paid parking is perhaps clouding your assessment. I’d hardly compare the east side business district (reminiscent of current Detroit) filled with cell phone stores, hair salons, pawn shops, adult toy/video stores and cut-rate, strip mall proprietors of trinkets and, at best, bazaar style store fronts, with the Michigan Ave. tenants on the west.
If Beirut is your cup of tea, than so be it. I expect more from BOTH ends of this Tale of Two Cities. The voting public is virtually the board of directors for the politicians. I say invite them to your neighborhood meetings. Start holding them accountable on a personal, neighborhood level. If they don’t, won’t, or can’t show, I should think that their reluctance or absence should speak volumes. Try flying Doug Thomas in from Florida for a neighborhood meeting.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
VAE, you’re a hoot! Completely delusional and full of crap, but a hoot nonetheless!
April 4th, 2009 at 12:14 am
I agree my opinions are merely that. The one dirty little thing that no one talks about in Dearborn is that catering to Middle Eastern segment of our population is costing the city dearly. It’s not politically correct to sound-off about the catering but it has continued over the years and just continues to grow. I completely appreciate other cultures and embrace friendship at the same time but why are we handicapping a complete segment of the population by providing, at a cost, individual (segregated, if you will) educational programs, and many other amenities? Dearborn has roughly 35,000 Middle Eastern residents out of a population of approximately 96,000 total residents.
I make no apology. Enough is enough. People may not talk aloud for fear of retribution but you can sure bet they are talking in private groups and at the very least thinking the thoughts.
With nationally recognized nicknames as “Dearbornistan,” “Hezbollah High,” “Henry Fordson Community College,” “Henry Fordson Centennial Library,” and many others you wonder why Dearborn is slowly deconstructing, imploding, if you will, and starting to be compared in parallel to the decline of Detroit.
Delusional? Perhaps. Visionary? Probably not. But at the very least I do acknowledge and recognize what is thought and said around the city, state, and country about our beloved Dearborn.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:31 am
I have visited the Michigan Schaefer business district of east Dearborn numerous times and I find plenty to admire and respect about this district and the people that live and work in it. Even though it certainly has some vacancies and other issues that need addressing, it has far more going for it than it has against it.
Despite the advanced age of some of the buildings, the facades and front areas look far better than they have in decades. The new sidewalks, landscaping and tucked in free street parking areas have really enhanced this wonderful downtown. Unlike west downtown that tore down so many structures and built new structures that commanded a very high price per square foot for lease, east downtown leaders decided to restore and/or preserve many of their structures. This has resulted in downtown east Dearborn having affordable rents and more space filled. The result of downtown west dearborn’s efforts has been extremely high vacancies and a very struggling west downtown. This alone says plenty about which downtown worked smarter.
Despite what some state, every business I have visited in east downtown, the owners and employees speak English and are professional, courteous and friendly. One example is M&M Café, which I visited this past week. The prices were very reasonable, portions were large, the food was excellent, the service was outstanding and the staff was very friendly. M&M Café is a place I would patronize frequently as well as tell others about, as I am telling you now. These people know how to run a business and run it well and deserve our patronage.
This east downtown area was on a serious decline a while back and the fact that mostly citizens in that area have brought it back says plenty positive about the area and the fine people that have renovated it. The fact that this business district sits adjacent to one of the most crime ridden and run down city in America, and yet our east downtown looks so nice and has people out and about walking, should be something we are all proud of, instead of something we constantly criticize.
I have met Michael Boettcher who works full time as the Executive Director of the EDDA, he has an extensive background in Economic Development and he deserves far more credit that criticism for the results and current state of downtown east Dearborn.
Downtown West Dearborn leaders could learn plenty from our eastern downtown leaders and business owners on how to run a downtown. All of us could also learn plenty from our Middle Eastern neighbors who know the value of teamwork and teach their children the work ethic from the time they can walk and talk. So instead of criticizing these fine people, let us give some credit where credit is due. In fact, we would be wise to ask for their input on how to renovate our west downtown, since we all are really part of the same one city and they seem to know how to get it right.
I stand by what I have stated and if anyone wants to get back into tearing apart east downtown Dearborn, rather than build bridges, then it will be their problem and not mine. End of story…
April 5th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Albano,
I’m confused about this paragraph.
Downtown West Dearborn leaders could learn plenty from our eastern downtown leaders and business owners on how to run a downtown. All of us could also learn plenty from our Middle Eastern neighbors who know the value of teamwork and teach their children the work ethic from the time they can walk and talk. So instead of criticizing these fine people, let us give some credit where credit is due. In fact, we would be wise to ask for their input on how to renovate our west downtown, since we all are really part of the same one city and they seem to know how to get it right.
Isn’t that the kind of people we have in the West End of Dearborn? Or are the West End Middle Eastern neighbors and Business owners different?
And why then is the East End so great?
April 10th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Confused,
I no longer have the time to write on these websites as I used to, therefore for the sake of clarity, this one time let me clarify a few things to make sure we are both on the same page.
There are far more Middle Eastern business owners in east downtown than there are in west downtown Dearborn. Because Middle Eastern family members know the value of teamwork, in many cases instead of their children and/or relatives heading off to another field, they work in the family/relative business. While it is not exclusive to Middle Eastern business owners, it is more common and family members and relatives in most cases are far more trusted labor sources than strangers. As far as I know, no nationality and/or descent are better at the teamwork role model, especially in business than Middle Easterners. This is something we all should admire and consider emulating.
I do not know how many business leaders there are in west downtown, but I am aware of large-scale property owners Newman, Fakhoury and some small business owners. While there may be more Middle Eastern property owners and developers in DTWD, Fakhoury is the only one I am aware of at this time. Regardless of my comments in my previous posting and the criticism some bloggers heap upon Fakhoury, the man has invested multi-millions of dollars into DTWD and this is something that I do not see anyone else doing. While he obviously was “in-on” the decisions being made in DTWD, there were many others that had far more “say” than Fakhoury did, that also significantly affected his developments. Therefore, I think that much of the blame that others place upon Fakhoury should be more focused on how all of us can help him and others succeed in DTWD, instead of simply placing blame.
DTWD decisions to teardown, renovate and so on were made at a time when the economy was in far better shape than it is our current economic meltdown. These decisions included having high dollar top of the line retail in DTWD was probably a wise idea and probably would have worked had the economy not had a meltdown once the properties were developed. Nonetheless, it has not worked out well now mainly because of the economy and a few other reasons, among them user-paid parking due to the inconvenience of it and not the bargain rates of it.
My suggestion that DTWD could learn from DTED is valid and not meant as any disrespect towards DTWD leaders. I have lived in west Dearborn for 35 years and love all of Dearborn. East and West have far too many divisions in my mind and I think that the more we all realize that we are ONE city, the better off our ENTIRE city and its leaders, residents and visitors will be. Since we are all from the SAME city, since DTWD is struggling far more than DTED at this time, I think it would be wise of our DTWD leaders to learn what works and what does not from DTED leaders, despite some differences in each business market.
Maybe some of the DTWD business leaders other than Fakhoury are of Middle Eastern descent/nationality as well and maybe some of the ones I do not know of are successful in DTWD. Nontheless, since not much else seems to have worked in my opinion in DTWD, we have nothing to lose and perhaps plenty to gain, because in my opinion, if there are not some drastic changes in DTWD soon, we may end up seeing even more businesses closing and then it will be a ghost town. This would be a shame and would devastate our wonderful city.
I hope this clarifies what I stated previously…