Hotel Mirrors Detroit's Woes

DETROIT—The auto show that begins this week gives Detroit the chance to show off a hometown industry on the mend and a downtown flush with upscale hotel rooms.

But many conventioneers' image of Detroit may be shaped by the dark and vacant former Hotel Pontchartrain, directly across from the Cobo Center convention hall. Fully renovated in 2007 then shuttered in 2009, the steel-and-glass hotel stands as a conspicuous symbol of Detroit's stunted redevelopment efforts.

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