Upgrades at the Packard Plant have been slowly moving forward as could only be the case with a hulking shell of a former manufacturing giant, once considered the most advanced in the world. The new owner of the Packard Plant held a “Reanimate the Ruins” contest for ideas to redevelop the site. Nadau Lavergne Architects submitted the winning design and it appears to include another streetcar/ light rail along Gratiot Avenue.
Will Detroit’s growing group of multi-millionaires bring “public” transit to the city?
DETROITography 
I am strongly against one-off efforts to address public transportation. In the middle of the city we have private transport for each institution that is exclusive to all other uses, from Gilbert’s employee shuttles to the Nemo’s bus between Corktown and the stadium. A line like this may seem different because it would be open to the public, but only an all-use system provides the “conduit” for both established uses and unpredictable future ones.
All of the efforts to provide one-off transit solutions should be focusing instead on working with the RTA, MDOT, the city, suburbs and SEMCOG to provide frequent, 24-hour, dedicated-lane, light-prioritized bus rapid transit along all of our major corridors and more frequent traditional and express bus service on other routes. This BRT project is being worked on now by these entities, but my hope is that all parties interested in better transportation get involved to improve and help secure funding for the current plans.