I was surprised and happy to see an old friend, John Ferchill, on wsj.com today.

Today, instead of being partially through development of Pabst City in Milwaukee, he's "betting on a $180 million plan to turn an old hotel (in Detroit) into a deluxe destination with four-star rooms and luxury condominiums."

Ferchill, one of the men behind the initial Pabst City proposal in Milwaukee's Downtown, is a fun loving, bull-in-china-shop developer who was always a hoot to talk to or hang out with. He thought big and, like many developers, demanded big.

According to the Wall Street Journal story, it seems that his plan is somewhat similar to that which would have made the old Pabst Brewery into a Bayshore Towne Center-like destination for Milwaukee. Aldermen, sadly -- as you probably remember -- voted the plan down.

I wish Ferchill well in Detroit and admit (even though current plans seem to be inching forward for Pabst) that I still would have loved to see Milwaukee embrace his vision so that we'd have a similar development here.

Oh well, things happen as they should and now it's time, Milwaukee, to finally develop Pabst City! If Detroit can do it, we can too.