Tuesday, February 05, 2008

MotorCity Casino a mixed bag for local neighborhoods

2.05.08

Casinos a mixed bet for boosting their neighborhoods
DTE workers benefit from MGM Grand, but other 2 casinos are a mixed bet for boosting their neighborhoods

BY HEATHER NEWMAN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Detroit's casinos have poured $2 billion into the state and city's coffers and taken more than $9 billion from players' pockets since the first one opened nine years ago.

They've contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and thousands of hours of employee time to area charities -- but sometimes had oddly little impact on the neighborhoods they sit in. That counterpoint of visibly great wealth cheek-by-jowl with visibly great poverty is hard to keep from first impressions about gambling's effect on the city.

The conclusion? So far for most who live with the casinos as veritable next-door neighbors, it's been a mixed bag -- a blessing and a disappointment.

Missed opportunities
The MotorCity Hotel and Casino, at Grand River Avenue and the Lodge, is bordered on three sides by residential neighborhoods. While it has undertaken neighborhood beautification projects including median plantings and cleanup projects that in some cases extend a mile from the complex, some area residents say they still hope for more.

Its history with the Woodbridge neighborhood to the north and west is checkered. Richard Rice, cofounder of the Woodbridge Creative Coalition that sponsored the Woodbridge Summer Fest, says the festival went from profitable to unable to continue in 2006 because of what they saw as an unkept commitment by the casino after it contributed in previous years.

Jacci Woods, a spokeswoman for MotorCity, says the casino never committed to sponsor the group that year.

Graig Donnelly, executive director of the Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corporation, says he's optimistic that his group will work with MotorCity in the future. But he's wistful about what he sees as missed opportunities.

"I think the casino has an amazing opportunity to do some great things with the neighborhood," he says. He characterizes the business as a neutral neighbor so far, balancing its positive contributions with things like traffic snarls and the destruction of the houses that used to be where the parking garage sits now.

"A casino is a destination," he says. "It doesn't necessarily have a strong connection to the neighborhood."

It only takes a quick glance around as you pull into the spectacular new complex to see the truth in that. No casino patrons venture outside, not that there are many businesses within immediate walking distance to visit. The houses nearby range from upgraded to trashy, with no signs of consistent improvement.

And while the casino has done significant volunteer work to clean up area streets and parks, Donnelly says he still dreams of an impressive community focal point ---- something at nearby Scripps Park, say -- that would welcome visitors to the Corktown and Woodbridge neighborhoods and spur more tourism.

Woods says there is a clear improvement in the area since the casino opened.

"The difference between that and what we've done now -- we believe we've had a significant impact," she says. Woods says she is surprised by the comments from the Woodbridge area, especially about Scripps Park, which the casino has repainted and cleaned.

She says that now that the casino has built its hotel, staff has been reaching out to area businesses to try and put together packages that will get people out of the casino to enjoy the sights -- local eateries, say, or a show at the Fisher Theatre -- while they stay.

That's a complicated process, since state law requires that any businesses that partner with casinos go through a rigorous investigation. But several businesses are working on licenses for that, she says.

"As a person born and raised in Detroit, I have a real, personal commitment to seeing that happen," Woods says.

The casino does have a better relationship with the Corktown neighborhood. "Corktown reached out to us very early, and it's a relationship that has evolved. It really is a partnership. We would love to have that relationship with Woodbridge -- it just hasn't evolved yet," says Woods.

Timothy McKay, executive director of Greater Corktown Development Corp., says the casino has been a boon to the neighborhoods directly south of it, taking suggestions from his organization for efforts ranging from much-needed cleanup projects to re-orienting the new hotel so it wouldn't close off Temple as a thoroughfare.

"I've lived in Detroit for 37 years. I wasn't an endorser of the idea of the casinos. But I have to say, they do a darn good job of what they do," he says. "They really do try to be a team player. There are downsides of gambling, don't get me wrong. But for us in the community, they're good neighbors. Other than gambling issues, I can't say anything bad about them."

MGM makes a mark
Perhaps the best example of casino money making a local difference is at the DTE Energy complex next to MGM Grand's spectacular tower on Third Street downtown.

Anyone who visited the DTE campus before the MGM move saw a bunker of a high rise next to acres of parking lot. A center courtyard between buildings was just an open space with scrubby bushes. MGM bought some of DTE's parking lots to build its permanent casino-hotel. DTE's employees could park in MGM's beautiful new garage. And cash from the sale -- DTE won't say exactly how much -- went into a huge, and long-overdue sprucing-up project.

Now the empty courtyard is an enclosed town square for employees to eat and meet. An area north of the buildings was fully landscaped. A new public entrance is in the works on the south side, complete with circular drive and a water feature. And a parking lot -- visible to drivers along Bagley -- is being turned into a private park for employees, including meandering paths for work breaks.

"It had been recognized for a long time that our campus had gotten a little ... tired," says Lynne Ellyn, senior vice president and chief information officer, who helped plan the project. "With the opportunity to sell this property to MGM, we really got the impetus and funding. They are massive improvements."

With the spruce-up at DTE, the new landscaping along the street medians near the MGM tower, giant seasonal displays -- fall pumpkins, a giant ornament during the Christmas holidays -- the casino puts on at Third and Bagley and the casino's taking over the maintenance of the statue of Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko on horseback and his grounds at that intersection, it's at least a more pleasant place to drive by.

"We like the general," says casino vice president of marketing April Jacobs. "So we'll take care of him, too. We have a good partnership here beautifying a corner of the city."

Greektown gains
The Greektown Casino, with far more neighbors because of its location in the historic Greek area off downtown, has forged alliances with select restaurants. Big bettors with complementary meal tickets boost the area's dining trade.

Greektown did about $7 million in comps last year. Yet, there are still restaurants that are unable to participate because they are not licensed to do business with the casino.

Businesses were also affected by street closings during the construction of the new Greektown Casino Garage last year.

Greektown Casino has taken a leadership role in the Greektown Merchants Association. The casino's Senior Director of Finance Jason Pasko is the treasurer. Few business owners contacted responded and those who did tended to choose words carefully, asking that they be off the record, or saying little. Many messages left at businesses ranging from area restaurants to churches weren't returned.

Despite the comp arrangements, many casino patrons never leave the gambling areas. And with the new garage, visitors can park and ride the People Mover directly to area events instead of walking through the neighborhood.

But the permanent Greektown is still in the works, so the final verdict on how it sits as a neighbor is still out.

Greektown spokesman Roger Martin says the casino sympathizes with merchants who have been affected by the construction issues -- they have, too, he said. He foresees even more interaction when the casino's high-rise hotel is finished this fall.

"At the end of the day, we believe everyone will be winners here," he says.

Contact HEATHER NEWMAN at
hnewman@freepress.com.

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