Spokeswoman Randi Berris said DTE would like to convert the Salvation Army building, which has been shuttered for 20 years, into retail uses, with a possible restaurant and office space. The triangular lot will be developed into a park that will become the focal point of the neighborhood, she said.

Berris said DTE's three-fold plan for the neighborhood – which borders the Lodge and Fisher freeways, and runs alongside Park, Howard, Case and Adams – is to stabilize the neighborhood, improve and then transform it.

Stabilizing the neighborhood includes working with Detroit police to make sure the area is secure and that graffiti is removed, she said. The neighborhood encompasses 45 city blocks.

"We have seen all the good work in Campus Martius with the Ilitches' Olympia Entertainment" and Dan Gilbert, Berris said.

"DTE wants to play a leadership role in what we call the western downtown," Berris said.

DTE is talking with developers about uses for the Salvation Army building; no timetable for development has been determined, she said.