Reimaging Vacant Industrial Sites

The Detroit Opportunity Sites initiative focuses on the challenges and opportunities of redeveloping large-scale industrial vacant properties.

In Detroit, vacant industrial land and buildings cover 6.1 square miles of the city, a formidable obstacle to traditional development strategies. The reuse of these large-scale, vacant sites is a complex challenge, requiring time, resources, and a network of supporting actors. Nonetheless, this reuse could unlock a host of social, economic, and environmental opportunities. Redeveloped sites can also serve as focal points for surrounding neighborhoods, acting as vibrant hubs of activity and centers of recreation, employment, and research. Detroit Opportunity Sites explores key aspects of these redevelopment challenges and opportunities through a select number of successful European and U.S. case studies.

Activities in this initiative include:

GMF is pleased to partner with Detroit Future City on this initiative to support the implementation of the Detroit Strategic Framework, which sets out a planning vision for Detroit in areas such as neighborhoods, city systems, civic engagement, and importantly, how to take advantage of the city’s existing land and building assets.

Support for Detroit Opportunity Sites is generously provided by the Kresge Foundation.

Workshop - Detroit, MI (April 15-17, 2015)

This workshop kicked off the the Detroit Opportunity Sites Initiative in Detroit and explored the creative reuse potential of large-scale vacant industrial sites through a series of U.S. and European case studies. Click here to see the workshop agenda or on any of the case studies below to see the full presentation.

  • Landscape Park Duisburg (Duisburg, Germany) by Arne Lorz, Project Manager, Duisburg 2027, Office for Urban Development and Project Management, City of Duisburg, Germany
  • Gas Works Park (Seattle, Washington, United States) by David Graves, Senior Planner, Seattle Parks and Recreation, City of Seattle
  • Hammarby Sjöstad (Stockholm, Sweden) by Erik Freudenthal, Head of Communications, GlashusEtt – Stockholm Vattens Environmental Information Centre
  • Holzmarkt, Kraftwerk, and Tresor (Berlin, Germany) by Dimitri Hegemann, Tresor Berlin GmbH & Kraftwerk Berlin GmbH and Mario Husten, Chairman, Holzmarkt Cooperative
  • De Ceuvel (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) by Sanderine van Odijk, CFO, Metabolic and Project Manager, De Ceuvel
  • IBA Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany) by Ulrich Hellweg, Managing Director, IBA Hamburg GmbH
  • Manufakture (Lodz, Poland) by Sławomir Murawski, Director, Manufakture, Apys Management
  • Lingotto (Torino, Italy) by Giovanni Comoglio, Architect and PhD Candidate, Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico Di Torino 

Study Tour (October 19-22, 2015)

This four-day study tour to Germany's Ruhr region and to Amsterdam explored innovative examples of industrial land reuse. Visits included Landscape Park in Duisburg, Krupp Gürtel in Essen, and De Ceuvel in northern Amsterdam. Participants from Detroit included representatives of Detroit Future City, DTE Energy, the Hudson Webber Foundation, LLC, the U.S. State Department, and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Read more here. 

Final Workshop - Detroit, MI (February 25, 2015)

This concluding workshop will focus on lessons learned from the initiative and on creating a strategy for industrial land reuse in Detroit.