Make all the Downriver jokes you want. The Free Press has investigated, and declares at least one community there both hot (in terms of development) and cool (at least, as measured by cocktail bars and trendy restaurants). Let's have a drumroll for Wyandotte.
Wyandotte's downtown, just off the Detroit River, is seeing a mini boom of business openings and new and redevelopment projects, including the largest market-rate apartments building in decades in this city of 25,000, the second oldest in Wayne County after Detroit.
"I’ve been involved in Wyandotte since 1972, and I’ve never seen it this hip," said Christ Doulos, owner of The Vault restaurant, 3058 First St., which opened in April 2021 in a former bank building. "A lot of people living in downtown, a lot of apartments, and the mayor and council are very proactive in helping us do business.”
Those in the business community hope that the new influx of residents and places to visit will help keep downtown a bustling year-round destination with a small-town feel, beyond the busy Wyandotte Street Art Fair that runs for four days each July.
Wyandotte, the Freep reports, is even attracting young people, who "just like the vibe" of the city, the white-haired mayor says, photographed standing in front of a block of new apartments, presumably where these valuable young folks can be found.
Among the attractions, besides bars and restaurants? Free parking.