City Knits President Karen Kendrick-Hands, left, with customer Jeanie Gross,
said she located in the New Center area because of its great potential.

CityFest is about the music
Nathan Hurst

DETROIT -- Not so long ago, a knitting shop stuffed with colorful hanks of yarn in exotic fibers might have seemed a curiosity tucked away in the hulking Fisher Building or anywhere in Detroit's New Center area, for that matter.

But Karen Kendrick-Hands chose the once-fashionable address to open City Knits over other locations in and out of the city for a reason.

"It has the potential to be the next great neighborhood," Kendrick-Hands, 56, said of the area three miles north of downtown near Wayne State University. "Development here is still very chicken and egg, though."

Perhaps. But shop owners and neighborhood advocates say a retail resurgence is already occurring in New Center, spurred in large part by efforts like the annual Comerica CityFest (formerly TasteFest), which begins Wednesday and draws tens of thousands to the once-grand neighborhood for food, live music and an open-air market featuring local retailers and real estate projects.

"The festival is our chance to show off everything we've got," said Felecia Williams, owner of Flo Boutique, one business participating in the open-air market at CityFest. "And we will show it off."

New vitality present
In the Fisher Building and along Grand Boulevard, upscale clothing and jewelry boutiques, funky art galleries and chic home decor stores have sprouted, adding a vitality that all but disappeared with the General Motors Corp. relocation to the Renaissance Center in 1996.

For the most part, new storefronts are locally owned independent businesses that stand in stark contrast to dilapidated homes just blocks away in every direction.

And if community advocacy groups have their way, improvements like those seen in New Center will radiate outward, eventually ridding the area of that blight.

Much of that redevelopment will depend on small business owners like Kendrick-Hands, said Karen Gage, vice president and director of planning and development at New Center Council Inc., a neighborhood redevelopment and advocacy organization.

"Local businesses are a big part of this," she said. "It takes a lot of cooperation."

The New Center Council has spent significant time convincing retailers to make a home in the neighborhood and persuading building owners to renovate properties in need of a face-lift.
That, Gage said, not only improves the curb appeal of New Center's real estate, but also can ensure its long-term economic viability.

Recently, the council spearheaded an effort to replace dark brown canopies on sidewalks along Woodward with landscaping and street lights. Businesses saw an immediate pickup in business, Gage said.

But even in the bustle of New Center's development, storefronts sit vacant, and boarded-up buildings await renovation.

With time, Gage said the holes will fill in, spurred by continued residential development and a steady influx of new retailers.

Front and center
The steady stream of festivalgoers this week will help New Center's cause.

The event gives independent retailers like Williams a chance to be front and center in a region where suburban big-box retailers and national chains tend to dominate.

For Kendrick-Hands, CityFest gets people to focus on Detroit's potential, something the pioneering retail shops in New Center are banking on.

"This is daring, opening a yarn store in Detroit," she said. "I'm really pushing the envelope, but I feel like I have to."

You can reach Nathan Hurst at (313) 222-2293 or nhurst@detnews.com.

CityFest details
What: Five-day festival in New Center, with local shops, restaurants and real estate
When: 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, ends 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: West Grand Boulevard between Woodward and the Lodge
Parking: Low-cost spaces available at nearby decks, premium parking nearest event for $4 or $5 at seven locations.