M-1 Rail and Detroit Land Bank Key to Detroit’s Success, Detroit Economic Club Panelists Say

Detroit Economic Club held a panel discussion titled “The Comeback Continues.”

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The M-1 Rail line and the Detroit Land Bank are key to the city’s comeback. That’s according to panelists from the Detroit Economic Club’s panel discussion held today titled “The Comeback Continues.” The conversation was about the impact public projects have on the city.

M-1 Rail President and CEO Matt Cullen says he expects the transit line to bring in billions of dollars of financial growth.

“We worked with the Illitch’s to get this one station right in front of the Red Wings Arena, one in front go the DIA, one in front of Comerica,” Cullen says. “Across the country when you benchmark these things, Portland, Seattle, Denver and a lot of other places, you get 10 to 20 times the money in economic development that you do investment in transit.”

Cullen says he expects to see much more than that in Detroit given the density of businesses downtown. He says he hopes the M-1 line sets the foundation for a complete regional transit system. 

Author

  • Bre'Anna Tinsley
    Bre'Anna Tinsley is a reporter for Detroit Public Radio, 101.9 WDET. She covers city government and housing, as well as co-hosting the "Detroit Evening Report" podcast.