Detroit
Where there’s something new to discover around every corner
Humming with activity, Detroit is America’s
great comeback city, with something fresh
and new at every turn. Billions of dollars have
been invested into revitalizing downtown with
new hotels, residential developments, restau-
rants, and an ever-increasing number of local
businesses and stores. Detroit’s transformed
riverfront, with nearly four miles of paved
paths, parks, and plazas, earned a mention
on USA Today’s 10Best. It also named the city’s
Midtown neighborhood — a hub of new res-
taurants, businesses, and cultural attractions
— as one of 10Best’s “Up-and-coming neighbor-
hoods around the USA.”
Downtown Detroit’s newly remodeled
and renovated Cobo Convention Center has
completed its $279-million expansion. New
spaces include the 40,000-square-foot Grand
Riverview Ballroom and a 30,000-square-foot,
three-story glass atrium that overlooks both
the Detroit River and the skyline of Windsor,
Ontario. The Cobo Center has also upgraded
all of its technology assets, and now offers
facility-wide Wi-Fi and an in-house TV broad-
cast system with satellite-uplink capabilities.
Outside Cobo Center, a new, 50,000-square-
foot exterior plaza and vehicle drop-off area
welcomes visitors, as do new high-tech video
messaging walls.
Detroit has plenty of venues and unique
meeting spaces outside of Cobo Center as
well. The Henry Ford has 12 acres’ worth
of exhibits and event spaces for groups of
up to 5,000. Groups interested in all things
automotive will love the Ford Rouge Factory
Tour. For galas and receptions, Diego Rivera’s
Detroit Industry murals at the Detroit Insti-
tute of Arts make a stunning and conversa-
tion-starting backdrop, and the historic Fox
Theatre can host everything from sit-down
dinners to stroll-around receptions in its
ornate lobby.
There are more than 40,000 hotel rooms
throughout metro Detroit, many of which
are new or recently renovated. Downtown
alone has more than 5,000 rooms, including the 1,298-room Detroit Marriott at the
Renaissance Center, which just completed a
Moving forward Detroit has made significant strides in the past few years, and the city continues
to forge ahead with new downtown development and positive changes — from the new, 50-block
District Detroit, opening in 2017, to the 3.3-mile M- 1 RAIL streetcar project, opening that same year.
