October 25-31,1987, The Michig n Citizen
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By Iter J. Crider
The Saturday, September
26, 1987, Home Real Estate
Section of the Detroit Free
Press had a rather interesting
feature article entitled "The
ext Boomtowns".
The article concerned itself
with the prediction by real es­
tate experts of where they for­
see the best housing values in
the metropolitan area are.
Housing prices in the cities
named were presently
depress d, but because of
various factors, such as, under­
development of the waterfront
properties in Downriver com­
munities of Grosse Ile, River­
view, Allen Park, and Tren­
ton; the recently built Mazda
plant and its affect on Flat
Roc and the massive expan­
sion of the Metropolitan Air­
port in Romulus, are all good
bets for drastically increased
housing values in short and
long term projections.
Far sighted developers in
Plymouth, ovi, and Canton
see a future in which west side
development will stretch from
Detroit to Ann Arbor.
Jerome Delaney, president of
the Western Wayne County
Board of Realtors, was quoted
as saying "I see the future of
Plymouth and Northville as
somewhat similar to Birmin­
gham and Franklin."
"The different communities
along the Haggerty corridor
balance and compliment each
other." ovi and Canton at­
tract people by their newness,"
Delaney said, "whereas
Plymouth and orthville ap­
peal to people who like a vil­
lage atmosphere, with res­
tored buildings well over 100
years old."
The article went on to
speak of Detroit and the fact
that an increasing number of
people are being educated to
the significance of property in
areas that have received na­
tional historic designations.
"People are beginning to look
at inner city values for pur­
poses of preservation and res­
toration."
That article started some of
my thought processes to work­
ing and caused me to make
some evaluations of Highland
Park. The more I thought, the
more I became convinced that
Highland Park had a number
of things going for it that
could very well tum it into a
"boomtown".
I thought about the great in­
convenience to residents of
some of the above mentioned
"boomtowns" since the
"Lodgability" repairs began on
the Lodge Expressway for
travelling to and from
downtown Detroit.
The planning and scheming
for routes to take; the aggreva­
tion with the bumper-to­
bumper lines and such; while
we in Highland Park hardly
broke a sweat in changing to 1-
75. Some of us even found 1-
75 faster and more convenient
that the Lodge in travelling to
and from downtown.
In addition, we have the
Davison Expressway to get to
either the 1-75 or the Lodge.
I thought of the fine old
homes in Highland Par and
the materials and workman­
ship in them -- some are even
designed by Albert Kahn, the
famed architect. I also
thought about how they could
lend themselves to restoration
and pres vation.
After talking with Gerri
Holt of the Highland Park
Preservation Committee, 1
learned that two sections of
Highland Park will receive Na­
tional Historic designation this
November. 1 thought of:
Gabriel Towers Apartments,
Bishop G. D. Moore Apart­
ments and the soon to be
developed Highland Park
General Hospital Apartments;
the security and comfort af­
forded many of our elderly
citizens; the many services
available to them through
Highland Par's Senior
Citizen's Office which in­
clused Meals on Wheels,
housekeeping services, shop­
ping trips, discount cab cards,
tours and much more.
I thought of the new image.
of Highland Park's Public
Safety' Department and the
growing citizen acceptance
and confidence in the Direc­
tor and personnel in the
.A.
Walter J.
Crider
IS HE E Y GIVE that a ¢en ral EI ctlon will b
City of Highland Park, Michl an on
Highland
Pk
Caucus
Club
Notes'
department.
But the thought that con­
tributed most to my "boom­
town thinking is the newly
founded partnership between .
Highland Park and Chrysler
Corporation in the Highland
Park Development Corpora­
tion.
It was only a few years ago
that Chrysler wasn't looked on
as any type of boom in the
auto industry and many
people were writing them off
as a failure.
In some circles, Highland
Parkers have been made to
feel embarrassed and
apologetic. It took Lee A.
lacocca, a man of vision,
foresight and guts to come up
with a new concept that was
as innovative as it was daring
and imaginative (the oncept
of government monies bailing
out a private industri 1 cor­
poration). We all know what
the doom-sayers were crying --
draino!! draino!! good govern­
ment money going down the
drain." Well that's all history
now. Chrysler Corporation is
boonUng" again louder and
better than ever.
Chrysler is now saying to
Highland Park's government -­
"We've been there; we know
the feeling. We are going to
develop a new partnership
with government in which we
will put up the risk capital.
ot only will we enter uns
partnership with Chrysler
money, but we will lend some
of the best brain power of our
Chrysler executives. These ex­
ecutives are seasoned in the
battles of despair and in­
decisiveness and in the
trenches of hopelessness and
helplessness, but through it
all, we have some out "boom­
ing".
We are now fully prepared
to enter confidently into
another equally innovative
relationship, so that not to
many years in the distant fu­
ture Highland Park's name
will appear along with ovi,
Allen Park, Plymouth,
Northville, Grosse Ile, Birmin­
gham and all others as the
newest and next "boom-
town"!!! Let all of the citizens
of Highland Park prepare
'. themselves to be a part of this
boom".
3
,
,
987
that for said G n ral EI ctlon
veral tlon pr clncts of th
as follow:
OTICE IS FURTHE GIVE
th polling plac for th
City of Highland Park ar
OTIC IS FU HE GIVE that th Polling plac for th
v ral I ctlon pr clnct will b op n from 7:00 o'cloc
In th for noon until 8:00 o'eloc In the aft rnoon.
CLf OF THE CITY OF HI HLA PI