Question: How can we retain talent, grow jobs and re-brand the image of our region?

Answer: By developing Woodward Avenue into a Creative Corridor.

The "creative sectors" of the economy (e.g.: advertising, design, media, etc.) are growing at twice the rate of the rest of the service sector and pay 50% more than average US wages. Detroit already has one of the top ten concentrations of creative workforces in the US. But we haven't been recognized as a creative community because our creative businesses are scattered throughout the region, whereas in most other creative hot spots creative businesses are concentrated in the central city.

The development of Woodward Avenue into a Creative Corridor is designed to increase the density of our creative workforce in downtown Detroit through the establishment of a business incubator, physical improvements to the Woodward streetscape, new business incentives and the development of creative "districts" along the Corridor.

This week we launched the Creative Corridor initiative through the creation of a new web site to connect the creative community with resources and services. Check out: detroitmakeithere.com to see the depth and breadth of our creative business community. We also unveiled a strategy to market Detroit as a creative hot spot with the theme Detroit Make It Here.

The initiative will cost about $50 million over 5 years to implement, but we're off to a great start. Check out more about the entire Creative Corridor initative at: detroitrenaissance.com/agenda/transforming-the-region