Downtown Detroit
Developments.

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DETROIT

Jewish leaders are optimistic that
mayor-elect Archer will inspire new
business development in Detroit.

etroit, long viewed as a city
of prosperous islands amid
a sea of despair, will require
a monumental effort on the
part of Mayor-elect Dennis
Archer and his new admin-
istration to turn itself
around, say Jewish business
leaders.
In wide-ranging, some-
times candid, interviews,
these chief executives said
the No. 1 goal of the Archer
regime is to change the way the
city does business, especially
since Detroit has lost a third of
its population and 40 percent of
its jobs since the early 1970s.
The Herculean task of turn-
ing Detroit into a world-class
city will require improvements
in combating crime, lowering

taxes, strengthen-
ing the relationship be-
tween the city and
suburbs, ending cronyism,
privatizing some city ser-
vices and improving mass
transportation.
"My inclination is that Den-
nis Archer is a very bright guy,
and I've been impressed with
the people he has surrounded
himself with," said David Her-
melin, co-owner of the Palace of
Auburn Hills and the Pine
Knob Entertainment Centers.
"The city needs a revitalization
plan and the leadership to
make things happen.
"I don't have a checklist of
what the city needs, but I have
confidence that Dennis Archer
will hit the right buttons in pro-
viding a rebuilding of Detroit's
community and business con-
cerns. I have a very good feel-

R.J. KING SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ing of what he's doing and we'll
support him in any way we
can."
As for improvements to mass
transportation, Mr. Archer has
cited that while many new jobs
to the region are created in the
suburbs, people who live in De-
troit have no reliable way of get-
ting to such employment. While
the regional busing system
needs improvement, the may-
or-elect is also longing for some
form of light-rail, possibly down
Woodward Avenue.
While the decline of the U.S.
auto industry contributed, con-
siderably to Detroit's downfall,
many leaders said they were
willing to assist the city in the
past despite the leadership of

Mayor Coleman A.
Young, who will give up
his office on Jan. 1 after
running the city for two
decades.
"We always had a fine rela-
tionship with Mayor Young, but
a lot of people had trouble with
the city or perceived there was
trouble," said Alan M. Kiriluk,
president of Kirco Realty and
Development Ltd. in Troy,
which owns One Kennedy
Square and Brewery Park, both
commercial office buildings in
Detroit.
"We're looking at two new
programs in Detroit that prob-
ably wouldn't have gone for-
ward without the mayoral
change. Mr. Archer will also
need to build a better rapport
with the state legislature. It
should be interesting and posi-
tive. He must create a better
climate for small businesses,

