from Nolan Finley of the Detroit News,

There may be good reasons the Ilitch organization isn't delivering on the promises it made to Detroit when receiving $340 million to help build its new Little Caesars Arena.

But the Ilitches aren't telling anyone what they are, or when the city might expect to see some progress on its grand plan for The District, which was supposed to redevelop 50 blighted blocks north of downtown into five distinct neighborhoods offering housing, offices and entertainment.

Under the timetable laid out for The District, two phases of the project should be well on their way to delivering nearly 700 new apartments.

Instead, the area where the swanky neighborhoods were supposed to go are covered with 27 surface parking lots — the last thing Detroit needed. The lots are servicing the LCA and producing revenue for the Ilitches, but not the transformation CEO Chris Ilitch promised when he revealed the company's vision.

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