NOVEMBER 10 • 2022 | 37

of subjects to collaborate on,”
he added. “
And so [whether it’s
academia or business or entre-
preneurship or real estate],
in some ways, we’re all in it
together.”

A GRAND VISION
When Jennifer Maiseloff, now
a set designer for the stage,
was beginning
her painting stud-
ies at the College
for Creative
Studies in Detroit
at the age of 18,
she found inspi-
ration by visiting
Michigan Central. She’d go
through each floor up to the
roof, taking photos and mak-
ing sketches while she was
there. She’d later turn them
into an array of paintings.
She’d describe the historical
edifice as her muse.
For Mary Culler, it’s full-
speed ahead with an extraor-
dinary commitment.
“We’re excited about mov-
ing the work forward. You’re
going to start to see some of

the buildings open and, in
some cases, getting completed.
And it’s hard to believe that
all the time has passed and
that we’re at this exciting point
where we’re actually seeing
progress. It’s really real.”

FINAL THOUGHTS
On my last visit to Michigan
Central, the elevator of years
gone by was once again mov-
ing up.
It led up to a rooftop with
230 feet of possibility that
caused Joshua Sirefman to
move back. And not far off in
Corktown were newer devel-
opments that led Matthew
Kalt to move home.
Without announcement,
while more moved up and
back and home, that initial
skepticism — not surprisingly
— started movin’ out.
And whether it’s a 20th-cen-
tury train station or a
21st-century mobility campus,
not being on the right plat-
form forward, to quote singer
Billy Joel, just seemed such a
waste of time.

Crews work on the 30-acre
complex in Detroit’s Corktown
and Southwest neighborhoods.

Jennifer
Maiseloff