- Coming up on ""One Detroit," we're at the Detroit Policy Conference, hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber.

There are hundreds of people here to talk about the future of Downtown Detroit.

Coming up, we're gonna hear from Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, and Detroit business owners about the changes that are taking place in the heart of the city.

Plus, we'll talk with the Chamber about ways to grow the millennial workforce.

It is all coming up next on "One Detroit."

- [Narrator] From Delta faucets to Behr Paint.

Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

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Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge Foundation.

- [Narrator 2] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV, among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

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(bright music) - Hey, I'm Stephen Henderson.

- And I'm Nolan Finley.

"One Detroit" is coming to you this week from the Detroit Regional Chambers Detroit Policy Conference at the Detroit Motorcity Casino Hotel.

- We're focusing on this year's conference theme, which is the future of Downtown Detroit.

These conversations with business and policy leaders are a really vital part of Detroit Public Television's ongoing series on the future of work.

- First up, let's check in on the state of downtown businesses.

The past three years have been challenging because of the COVID pandemic.

One Detroit's Bill Kubota and Daily Detroit's Jer Staes spoke with business owners about their plans and hopes for the future.

(bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) (slide whooshing) - [Host] As 2023 starts in Downtown Detroit, I wanted to take a look ahead to see what some may think the future holds.

I talked to three entrepreneurs in hospitality and retail about their experiences.

A huge impact is the shift to working from home.

- We just this morning had a meeting at one of my companies talking about what will be the 2023 kind of hybrid model.

How many days in the office, what are those days?

So everyone's trying to figure it out to manage through what is a unpredictable and unforecastable number of bodies coming through our door every day at the lunch hour.

Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays have been phenomenal.

Our Sunday brunch numbers are probably 50 to 60% higher now than pre-pandemic.

I don't know why.

- [Host] Dennis Archer Jr.'s Central Kitchen is just off Woodward next to campus Marsha's.

Over in the financial district, a coffee shop, Coffee Down Under.

- And it's palpably obvious down here.

You can sit on Shelby Street and not see a person walk by for 10 minutes in the middle of a day on a Wednesday, right?

And I think that's kind of, you know, we're hoping that changes.

- [Host] The coffee shop down the steps, also a front for a speakeasy Behind the Blue Door featuring custom libations and what was one time a bank fault, the place hopping on a cold January Saturday night.

- I understand the merit of flexible work and I'm supportive of that, but Detroit is actually more emblematic of the rest of the country than a lot of big cities like, you know, New York or LA, for example, which are more, you know, they're their own thing.

We need commuter traffic.

You need people from the suburbs coming down here and spending time.

These businesses are predicated upon that.

We don't have enough residential density in the city to support the amount of, you know, restaurants that we have.

We need people to come back at least a few days a week and really encourage patronizing local businesses to help them succeed because we can't just succeed on Friday, Saturday.

You know, that's just not enough.

- Throwbacks Home launched in Downtown Detroit after the pandemic.

They're a furniture retailer and interior design showroom.

- It's been great.

I mean, like I said, there's no furniture stores down here.

And so I think the response has been extremely positive.

The first week we were open, I wanna say 50% of the people who were coming in knew about us and wanted to see it support us.

And the other half, you know, were just people who are curious.

Now we're get teetering into more of the 70% of the people have never heard of our brand, which is amazing because we've been around since 2014.

So it's a blessing and I'm just really excited to be down here.

- As you can see, sometimes a story has multiple sides, but for those experiencing challenges, what are some possible solutions?

What do you think of some of the plans to increase more residential?

There's even been talk of converting some buildings that were offices into residential.

Do you think that would benefit you?

- Yeah, I mean, the more people that are living downtown, I think they're better.

If you look at, for instance, what happened in Downtown Birmingham versus in Downtown Detroit, Downtown Birmingham, as soon as all those places could open, they were open.

They were back open with their same exact hours because there's a density of people living.

And so there where you have people that are living and maybe they're not going to work, that actually helps the restaurants that are in Downtown Birmingham because those people are staying at home, but they wanna get out to go to lunch, they want to go to happy hour, they want to go to brunch.

And so the more people that live Downtown accompanied by more people on a regular basis coming back to the workplace, I think it's gonna enure to the benefit of all of us that are in hospitality and retail.

- So one I feel very strongly that we should rethink the zoning in this city.

I think zoning creates a lot of challenges for development and inhibits development that, you know, is frankly unnecessary in my mind.

- Expand on that a little bit more actually.

- Yeah, I, you know, I just, the idea that the city dictates what type of activity, I think it stems from a, yes, I would not like to have a nuclear power plant across the street from my residence, but it doesn't mean that, you know, there should be such specificity around like, what type of retail business can be at this corner versus another corner.

Can I build a single family home or a 4-unit, you know, North Corktown, for example, I've invested a fair bit.

There's a lot of vacant lots.

I'd like to see something there and I don't really think we should be that particular.

If it's gonna be residential, let's just allow it to be any form of residential.

- [Narrator] I ask these three whose opinions I all value immensely.

What about the future?

- What is my hope?

Oh, God.

I mean, I just hope that we can keep evolving.

I feel like since we started, all I've been doing is evolving.

You know, we have some really exciting collections that we wanna launch out that I honestly think we can only really launch down here.

I'm looking forward to the unknown.

That's what I could say.

- Really excited for the train station development and kind of that greater vision for Corktown.

I really hope we get it right.

You know, I know in a lot of money's being put into it, a lot of great people are working on the project.

You know, I hope Ford is able to actually get people into the the space.

Right now the property values reflect a vibrant community there, which doesn't exist yet because, you know, these buildings aren't occupied.

And that's a big one.

I think for 2023 in Detroit, I really hope that one lands.

- I don't wanna start with business.

I would say that people should spend time with and be thankful for family and friends.

We've seen a number of losses over the last year, so I would put that ahead of business.

And what I would say as a wish is just for those who have not endeavored down here to give it a shot.

Because anytime someone comes down here, either, A, for the first time or they haven't been here for a long time, they're wowed.

My wish would be to give us a shot and come on down.

- I had a chance to sit down with Michigan's Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist here at the conference to talk about what's happening in Downtown Detroit and the administration's economic plans.

Here's a portion of that conversation.

(bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) (slide whooshing) - You know, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and I are excited about the state of Michigan and what we can do for the next four years.

And that always is grounded in what's happening in Detroit.

This city is, you know, the most important city for our economy, for our culture, and helps to really set the trajectory for our future.

And so thinking about Downtown Detroit is very personal to me in my childhood.

I spent the first half of my childhood living just east of Downtown in Elmwood Park.

And my father worked Downtown, so I remember coming in with him so often, going to the Grand Prix downtown.

Super excited to have that going back through the streets of Downtown Detroit.

Remember going to Trapper's Alley and thinking, riding a people mover was the most awesome thing ever to go get off at Trapper's Alley.

- It's an amusement park ride for kids.

(group laughing) - So I think how things have evolved, what's become clear is that it's important that every part of our city can advance together.

And you can't think of an amazing city, an amazing city experience without having an amazing Downtown experience.

And that experience must then be able to create value for others who live in other parts of the city.

And I think we're beginning to really see elements of that take shape.

And so the state has been very aggressive in being partners with many of the people in this room and many people who are part of this organization to make sure that those investments are targeted, that we are building on everything from transportation infrastructure with the ongoing investment that the state is committed to in the Q line to amazing event spaces and continuing to support those with the support we've done of Huntington Place to building up the technology ecosystem and the amazing, whether it's incumbent technology companies or startups that are driven by people with ideas, especially in the software space where I come from, we're excited to see Detroit being named as the number one startup ecosystem for emerging companies.

And adding that, yes.

(audience clapping) Adding to the sense that Detroit is the place for a person with an idea to come and thrive and go ahead and be successful.

That's always been true of our city.

And if it's true Downtown, it can be true everywhere.

- Yeah.

So let's talk some about what's about to happen in Lansing.

We've got Democrats in control of legislature and the governorship for the first time since I don't know that you were born the last time that was true.

(Garlin laughing) I was young.

I don't think you were even around yet.

The expectations I think for Detroiters are high because of that.

And they should be.

The state hasn't done right by the city and or by Downtown I think for a really long time.

So what do you think is possible in terms of difference and enhancement in terms of that relationship between the state and the city?

And as you point out, not just investing in Downtown, but making sure that those investments lift neighborhoods and lift the people who live here, most of whom, who don't live Downtown.

- You know, I started with the governor and my's excitement on purpose.

And that is in part because of the opportunity that we have.

Yes, this is the first time in 40 years that Democrats have been in the majority in both chambers of the legislature and hold the governor and Lieutenant Governor's offices and put that in perspective, yes, I was three months old last time that happened.

- [Stephen] Okay (laughing).

I was- - I don't remember that.

- [Stephen] Right (laughing).

- And I think a lot of people, though, are thinking about and trying to understand what is possible in this moment.

How can we take advantage of this opportunity that the voters of the state of Michigan and the voters of Detroit largely supported have given us.

And I think we should start by saying with the fact that Detroit is better represented in state leadership than it ever has been.

Certainly I'm a Detroiter serving as Lieutenant Governor along side Governor Gretchen Whitmer, how Speaker Joe Tate is a Detroiter.

And so the city- (audience clapping) This is a moment for the city to recognize that leadership in Lansing is not only responsive, but that Detroiters are literally in place.

- Yeah.

- And so when we're thinking about what our priorities are, that the same priorities that Governor Whitmer and I have been talking about in making progress on for the last four years, and I think it really starts with how are we laying the foundation for the future in the city of Detroit.

The way that we've invested in public education, I believe is laying a solid groundwork for transformational educational experiences.

Our administration has worked with a Republican legislature for the last four years to put more money into your schools, into the Detroit public schools, the schools that my children attend fourth grade in right now than ever in the history of education in the state of Michigan and doing so equitably, positioning young people to realize whatever dreams that they have are available to them in the economy that we are building and growing in the state of Michigan, we are gonna continue to be committed to that educational investment.

Even going a step further by ensuring that kids have access to individualized learning experiences because a lot of kids might need a little bit more support coming out of COVID or just might need people to meet them where they are in a more aggressive way.

And we're very excited to be bringing that to reality here in over the next four years.

We also know that we have to continue to grow our economy in an inclusive and equitable way.

That means people understanding that if they have ideas and want to be entrepreneurs, that we see them as potentially Michigan and Detroit entrepreneurs and wanna support their success.

- For most of the past three years, a lot of folks have been working remotely because of the pandemic.

Now employers are starting to make decisions about bringing their people back to the workplace.

I sat down with Cindy Paske, President and CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions, to get her perspective.

(bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) - Cindy, your job is your company staffs, provides workers for a lot of different kind of companies, tech, business, other businesses, insurance companies.

We went through this horrible workforce disruption in the pandemic.

A lot of people dropped out.

A lot of it was hard to find workers.

Has the ship righted?

Are people coming back to work?

Are people looking for jobs again and are employers looking for employees?

- Well, employers never stopped looking and in certain industries- - Yeah.

- They never stopped in looking.

So finance, energy, healthcare, they never, they always had to look.

Some employers obviously stopped, retail, transportation, things like that.

So employers are continuing to look.

They have a greater comfort level now.

- Yeah.

- As to getting their work done.

The type of employees that are willing to come back, your high tech workers, your finance people, your healthcare people, they're looking for jobs.

They wanna engage, but they were with industries that kept working along through the pandemic.

I think part of what I don't see a lot of conversation around- - Yeah.

- Is a lot of individuals found a way to make a living through the gray economy.

And perhaps it's not as lucrative as when they had a position, but it has the flexibility of their own schedule, their own rules, whether it's being a gig person- - Right.

- Driving an Uber delivering or whether it's cutting hair in their basement.

So we still see a challenge with individuals that have said, "I'm not sure I actually wanna step back and take this position full-time at the salon or take this position at the restaurant.

I can make an income this way."

- The flexibility is sort of the key word in employment today, isn't it?

- Right, right.

- And the sort of business you run where you take workers and put them with companies for a short period of time or maybe a long period of time, but it's not I'm signing up for a lifetime job.

- Exactly.

- I'm gonna work here for a while.

- Right.

- And then maybe over here.

- Right.

- Is that seemed to be where workers are going today?

They want sort of that variety and flexibility?

- They want the variety, they want the flexibility.

And I think one of the things that happened during the pandemic is they lost some of the fear- - Yeah.

- Of having that flexibility and having that variety.

And they recognize that if they have a skill, they're a valuable commodity and they don't have to stay somewhere for 10 years or 15 years.

Someone's going to see value in what they bring and provide them another opportunity.

So while it was a very fearful situation for so many reasons.

- Yeah.

- One of the things that happened is people went, "My talent has value.

I shouldn't be afraid to ask for what's important to me and I shouldn't assume I won't find that next opportunity."

- Now, you've had to be very innovative in staffing and finding people to take these jobs.

And you've been sort of a pioneer both in hiring Veterans and in hiring former prison inmates.

- Yes.

- Returning citizens.

Why is that important to you and how has it worked out?

- It's important because we believe one of our pillars is to provide people an opportunity to change their station in life.

And we live that every single day.

We believe that when you look at a Veteran, they have sacrificed part of their life to ensure that we have the freedoms- - Right.

- That we believe in, that we need and that we desire.

They should have barriers removed to offset the fact that they weren't in the workforce with someone their age for X number of years.

They start out of the gate four years behind.

- And returning citizens.

- And returning citizens, when someone's gone through and said, "I recognize that I've made a mistake.

I have done what I need to do to rectify that.

I have gathered a skill and I want to be part of my family and I wanna be part of the community," it would be so unfortunate if somebody didn't recognize that they should be given that opportunity.

- So, Cindy, you've, as we said at the beginning, a longtime Detroit booster.

You're looking at Detroit post pandemic.

What do you see over the next five years?

- You know, where I see is we don't have enough layers of jobs to have Detroiters go to work.

We don't have enough jobs still coming into our state and into our city.

I co-chair the Mayor's Workforce Board, I chair the Governor's Workforce Board.

So I don't say that this is an issue and not try and be part of the solution, but we don't.

We don't have the right combination of jobs.

I think everybody should have an opportunity to work.

We continue to make success with that.

And I believe Detroit will continue to prosper.

- A major challenge for the city and state is how to attract and keep young talent.

Millennials are expected to represent 75% of the global workforce in the next two years.

In this future of work report, "One Detroit" producer, Will Glover, spoke with the Chamber's senior director of community engagement and leadership development, Devin O'Reilly, about strategies to make Michigan more attractive to the younger generation.

(bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) (slide whooshing) (bright music) - Our focus, my focus is the future of work.

And one of the things that people are concerned about is where the millennials are going because they have the talent that every municipality, every state, every city wants to bolster their economy, but reports are saying millennials, our cohort, are moving down South, they're going to Dallas, they're going to Austin, they're going to Florida.

What do you think it takes to get them to come here?

Why aren't they flocking to Detroit or Southeast Michigan?

And what is the solution in your eyes to change that?

- Sure.

I mean, well we can't change the weather.

- (laughing) Right.

- So, you know, there's that migration to southern, warmer states and warmer climates.

Nothing we can do about that.

Although I'd argue having four seasons is pretty cool.

I mean, I enjoy having four.

- I have to agree.

- Great seasons in Michigan.

- Yip.

- So, you know, we have some things that we have to look at in terms of what are our strengths?

There's things we can't change.

You know, there's certain factors, whether it be environmental, whether it be major macro factors that we can't really change anytime soon.

So we have to look at what our strengths are.

There is still a good amount of affordability compared to some of the places, you know, you mentioned even if you look at like a Austin, a DC, even in the coasts, Boston, it's really expensive and, you know, especially at housing, which people are talking about the housing marketing and being able to afford, the dream of a millennial is to to own a home just like anyone in the previous generations.

And that's still really a lot more attainable here in the Southeast Michigan region.

And so there is a level of kind of accessibility and affordability that I think is important to consider when, you know, staying in Michigan.

I have friends in other parts of the country who just can't afford a house.

And, you know, money just goes a long way here, longer way here I should say.

- [Will] Right.

- So that's a factor.

But I think we also have to look at it strategically and, you know, we are, and now when I say "we," I'm talking about kind of the Chamber, our partners.

And actually what I'm encouraged by is some of the real intentionality about how can we address this problem.

So, for instance, at our MICHauto Summit in December, the governor announced a funding for our MICHauto program for a high-tech talent strategy.

And what that's gonna be doing is going to be allow public and private sector, so academic institutions, schools themselves, employers, major employers here and places like the Chamber to kind of work together on benchmarking.

Well, what are other cities doing that are attracting talent?

Where are they going?

Because we have talent here.

We know this, we have talent here.

- Right.

- We have some of the best schools in the country, in the world here.

They're just leaving.

And so it's more about how are we keeping people here who already know about Michigan and maybe just change their perception a little bit and show them a pathway.

And so what we're gonna start talking about is this kind of career talent supply chain instead of a pipeline.

- [Will] Right.

- A talent supply chain where there's on-ramps, off-ramps, but there's a strategic way where if you're in school, if you're at Michigan Tech or you're at Lawrence Tech or you're at U of M, you have a clear path to a really great career in a field that you want because again, jobs are here.

- Right.

- And so a lot of it, unfortunately, it's just perception and changing that perception and showing people, young people in high school and in college that there is a clear path to an incredible job that will, you know, pay you well and give you that life that you want.

And then you can vacation in Florida and Southern California and have another house there.

- Right, right, right.

So we can set you up here to have the life that you want and explore the world.

- Exactly.

- Right.

Could you give, give us your pitch for coming to the city of Detroit for starting your business here, growing your business here, starting your family here, growing your family here, living, working, playing.

What is your pitch for anybody who might not quite get it yet?

- I can tell you because I live it every day.

And you know this.

You know, we talked about that small town feel.

Well, that's helpful in that regard because if you wanna make something of yourself here, whether it be start your own business, whether it be part of a larger business that you feel is doing something really great worthwhile, you can do it here easier and more accessible because everyone talks to each other.

You can be in Detroit for a week and find all the right people.

You find Devin, I introduce you to Will, Will introduces you to Jeanette Pearson or whoever it is, whoever you wanna talk to.

That's what kind of voids my personal pitch to people.

When I talk to small businesses, when I talk to entrepreneurs and I have from all over the world, you know, I tell them in a nutshell, who do you need to talk to?

We can connect you.

I can connect you because that's what Detroit does.

And we all know each other and we all have these relationships.

So you can do it here, you can build it here, whatever that is to you, you can build it here.

- That'll do it for this week's "One Detroit."

Thanks for watching.

- You can see more of our conversations from the Detroit Policy Conference on upcoming episodes of "One Detroit" and at onedetroitpbs.org.

- And as always, you can connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

We'll see you next time.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] From Delta faucets to Behr Paint.

Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia & Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV.

The Kresge Foundation.

- [Narrator 2] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV, among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

- [Narrator] Nissan Foundation and viewers like you.

(gentle music) (piano music)