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Living and Investing in the D: Investment and community

ArvinMeritor: Teaming up with school ■ From Page 32

years from a tax-incentive package that included tax credits from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, brownfield-redevelopment tax credits and Renaissance Zone tax breaks. Both MEGA and the brownfield-redevelopment program are awarded by the state and lower a company’s annual single-business-tax bill as a reward for generating jobs and building in an environmentally blighted area. The Renaissance

Zone program provides breaks on local taxes. Rush said ArvinMeritor wanted to be near a high school because about half of the company’s charitable giving goes to educational causes. Plus, ArvinMeritor believes participating in local education efforts potentially helps to train future employees and strengthens the communities where the company operates. “In order to enhance an area

Southwestern High School received $600,000 from ArvinMeritor to help build a new football field and renovate an auditorium. The company also works with several ongoing school programs.

you have to develop a sense of community,” Rush said. ArvinMeritor’s relationship with Southwestern High School began when the school agreed to sell a piece of its property to ArvinMeritor. Problem was, that piece of property included the track and football field. In addition to paying for the land, ArvinMeritor kicked in an additional $600,000 to help pay for the construction of a new football field, bleachers and track on a little-used parking lot that the school already owned. Some of the money also went to renovate the school’s auditorium. But that, Hodge said, was just the beginning of ArvinMeritor’s involvement in the high school’s programs and activities. Two years ago, the company agreed to sponsor the high school’s robotics club. “(ArvinMeritor) provided space, engineers, and mentors and consultants to make sure this was a success,” Hodge said. The robotics club was an immediate hit. For two years in a row, Southwestern teams have advanced from regional competition to a national competition in Atlanta. According to its Web site, the FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week time frame using a standard kit of parts and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in a series of competitions. In addition to the robotics club, Hodge said, ArvinMeritor employees are frequently tapped as guest lecturers at the high school. ArvinMeritor is also a co-op training partner with the high school’s business training curriculum. Last year eight students completed the program. On top of that, Hodge said, the high school and ArvinMerSee ArvinMeritor, Page 38

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Photo credit: General Motors Corp. Used with permission, GM Media Archives.

DRIVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL. General Motors is proud to be a catalyst for downtown development. Whether it’s helping businesses or communities grow, we are pleased to call Detroit our home.

CHEVROLET

BUICK

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GMC

S AT U R N

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© 2006 GM Corp. All rights reserved. The marks of General Motors and its divisions are registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation.

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ArvinMeritor: Teaming up ■ From Page 34

itor are working this summer to put the final touches on a scholarship program that would provide several scholarships per year for students to Kettering University, the former General Motors Institute, in Flint. Tobocman, whose district includes the Delray community, said ArvinMeritor’s basic presence as an employer has given the Delray community a much-needed boost and said the company’s involvement goes beyond its partnership with the high school. “It’s a beautiful facility. I describe it as an anchor tenant for West Fort Street and the Delray community, and the jobs are absolutely critical,” Tobocman said. “It’s our plan that that investment be the starting point of a much bigger revitalization of West Fort Street and Delray.” Tobocman says ArvinMeritor was the driving force behind the creation of the West Fort Street Business Association in 2004. Then, the association, ArvinMeritor and Tobocman joined to pressure the state to accelerate its plans to resurface West Fort Street. At the time, the project wasn’t scheduled to occur for two or three more years but was viewed by the company and the community as critical to economic development. “Jerry (Rush) and the other West Fort Street Association members were really instrumental in helping me to get M-DOT to resurface West Fort Street,” Tobocman said. Today, Rush said, the association has about 15 members, and a membership drive is planned for September. Despite the company’s community involvement, Rush stressed that ArvinMeritor’s first responsibility is to run a profitable business that satisfies its customers. Inside the plant, ArvinMeritor assembles the portion of a car’s suspension that includes the axle, cradle, control arm and stabilizer bar for DaimlerChrysler AG. When the order comes in, ArvinMeritor has 126 minutes to assemble the part and get it to the Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit. Without “a successful business model, nothing happens here,” Rush said. That said, ArvinMeritor believes that participating in the community eventually helps the company in terms of community support and potential future employees. “It’s something that doesn’t happen overnight,” Rush said. “But we are seeing a transformation in the community, and we are seeing progress.” Brent Snavely: (313) 446-0405, [email protected]

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Detroit is a fantastic place to live and work. That’s why National City Community Development Corporation in conjunction with National City Mortgage provides the resources to help build a stronger workforce, a thriving community and a more vibrant region. Momentum is building in southeast Michigan. We’re proud to be part of it.

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Living and Investing in the D: Lafayette Park at 50

A modernist jewel

races, ages and income levels. “We have an unusual success story,” says Carol Weisfeld, a 29year resident of the neighborhood and president of the Riverfront East Alliance, an urban advocacy group. “We were designed to be a diverse community, and we’ve succeeded for decades as a diverse community.” Residents are often seen riding bikes Weisfeld through tree-lined streets, over the hills of historic Elmwood Cemetery and along sidewalks in the parks, passing tall concrete and glass high-rise apartments and low-rises. The first structures were designed by world-renowned Ger-

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ifty activities are planned for Sept 16-Oct. 16 as residents of Lafayette Park celebrate the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking of Detroit’s first major urban-renewal project. Architects and planners transformed the 19th century-built Black Bottom neighborhood, named by early Detroit settlers for its rich soil, into a mix of high- and low-rise residential units appealing to all

man-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, giving the neighborhood its distinct character and helping it achieve standing as a National Register Historic District. The vision was built following turmoil and upheaval in Black Bottom, the oldest and poorest section of Detroit, historian Thomas Sugrue says in his book Origins of the Urban Crisis. “The most densely populated section of the city in the 1940s, it was the target of ‘slum clearance,’ ” Sugrue writes about clearance of the land for urban renewal under Mayor Edward Jeffries. “The centerpiece of Detroit’s postwar master plan was the clearance of “blighted areas’ in the inner city for construction of middle-class housing that it was believed would revitalize the urban economy.” However, he notes, “Plans to relocate blacks displaced by the projects utterly failed.” In time, Lafayette Park would become noted for racial and economic balance. As part of the clearance, the city had demolished 110,000 units, largely built in the 19th century, leaving more than 100 barren acres between the river and Gratiot empty. In 1956, UAW leader Walter Reuther and a team of managers from other unions recruited van der Rohe to build a modern urban community that would compete favorably with new tract housing in Oak Park, Southfield and Allen Park. A multicultural jewel built of steel and glass emerged. Pioneers embraced a notion of living with people of differing incomes, races and classes. Somehow it stuck. “This is one of the most economically and racially diverse neighborhoods you’ll find anywhere,” said 35-year resident Harriet Saperstein, president of HP Devco in Highland Park, noting the Parkview Tower at 1601 Robert Bradby Drive offers state-subsidized low-income dwellings. At the other end of the income scale, developer Joel Landy found 26 buyers within a year of carving out 32 loft condominiums in the old Leland School at 13395 Antietam. They averaged $250,000 to

rd

JOHN SOBCZAK

Floor to ceiling windows, the famed “glass curtains” that were architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s hallmark, are apparent in the townhouses at Lafayette Park.

BY MAUREEN MCDONALD SPECIAL TO CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

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Number of units: About 1,800. Architectural styles/sizes: The 129-acre neighborhood is known for its internationally acclaimed, Ludwig Mies van der Rohedesigned high-rise apartments and low-rise townhouses. It also hosts a mix of new loft construction and modern condominiums. Unique to the area is a dominance of co-op units. New owners are voted in by existing residents after paying an equity fee to the association and a monthly maintenance fee that averages $640. Lafayette Park is also noted for its lush greenery and below-ground parking. Price range: Prices from $60,000 to $300,000, not including some governmentsubsidized senior and lowincome housing. Organizations: The mostactive citizen group is made up of the 275 dues-paying members of the Riverfront East Alliance, which campaigned successfully to retain the Lafayette Park shopping mall and helped thwart plans to put casinos nearby at the Detroit River and Joseph Campau. At least 100 residents created Lafayette 50 to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Events: The 50th anniversary of the Lafayette Park groundbreaking occurs Oct. 16 with a film fest, design symposium and civic dialogue. Other activities are planned. Call Joanne Givens at (313) 510-0350 or visit www.neighborhoodlink.com/ detroit/lp50.

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

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For more information, please contact: Jonna Detroit Lofts 248-352-1550 www.jonna-detroitlofts.com

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Living and Investing in the D: Lafayette Park at 50

Park: Residents become best r

Neil McEachern Lafayette Park A green oasis on the edge of downtown is how Neil McEachern describes Lafayette Park. He says he has seen Detroit’s progress for the past 15 years through the wall-towall, floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the front and back of his townhouse. Some would shy away from people having a constant view of the inside of their home, but McEachern said the ease of living downtown overshadows the drawbacks. Curtains and blinds also help. “Yes I’m comfortable with it,” McEachern, 60, said. “And, of course, you have to weigh the odds before you dash down the stairs in your underwear.” The two-story, 1,300-square-foot townhouse with basement was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. McEachern bought the house from Charles H. Wright, the Detroit physician who founded the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. McEachern, born in Buffalo, N.Y., went to high school in Detroit and was an elementary school principal in the Detroit Public Schools. He is now retired. When McEachern sees people from this neighborhood walk to city amenities such as the Boll Family YMCA and Eastern Market, he is proud they are supporting Detroit. — Bowdeya Tweh

■ From Page 40

$350,000. Some units kept the blackboards or bookshelves intact. Landy said that selling units has been a breeze, owing to an active neighborhood that recruits friends and family members to move in. The proximity to new restaurants, bars and sports stadiums is balanced by trees and mature landscaping. The problem of finding retail for the neighborhood persists. Weisfeld, a psychology professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, devotes much of her spare time to hunting for a grocery store to occupy Lafayette Mall. “We’ve been turned down by Trader Joe’s, Wild Oats, Whole Foods and Westborn Market because we don’t have enough college graduates in our neighborhood. We have higher density and greater loyalty than retailers give us credit for maintaining, and we are very loyal to our merchants,” Weisfeld said. She helped lead the Riverfront East Alliance’s effort to save the mall from demolition by former owner Habi-

tat Co. of Chicago, which sought to make the space into a giant condominium complex. Instead, Southfield-based First Commercial Realty & Development bought the 60,000 square foot mall from Habitat, spending $3 million to tear down decrepit structures and refurbish the historic glass and aluminum facades. Both residents and the Historic Commission of Detroit approved the project before it began. Among mall tenants, Sala Thai owner Eddie Pradithazanij came back because residents fought valiantly to keep the Thai restaurant open. In contrast, the supermarket spot has remained empty for more than 16 months since renovation. “We are confident that someone upscale will be impressed with our floor plans and offer quality meat, poultry and vegetables,” says Dennis Evans, general manager of commercial real estate for First Commercial and a 32year resident of the neighborhood.

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www.stregiscondos.com or call 313.874.4222

We are located at 3071 W Grand Blvd Suite 100 Detroit MI, 48202 The features, amenities, prices and specifications described above are proposed only, and the Developer reserves the right to modify, revise, or withdraw any or all of the same in its sole discretion without prior notice. Nothing herein shall constitute an offer to sell, or solicitation of offers to buy, in states in which such offers or solicitations cannot be made.

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Living and Investing in the D: Lafayette Park at 50

st recruiters for development Meanwhile residents themselves continue the recruitment campaign to fill housing units. The late Douglas McIntosh, an architect with McIntosh Poris Associates in Birmingham, designed a series of townhomes for the Habitat Co. now awaiting construction. Al Morrison, a Detroit developer, has purchased a 10-acre leveled parcel, formerly the Rochdale Court Apartments, and plans to build market-rate condominiums. The melange of old and new units in an attractive cluster still appeals to Kevin Johnson, 48, a filmmaker who grew up in the neighborhood and returned as an adult. Johnson, owner of Joliet Films and a freelance broadcast producer, is working with the Lafayette 50 committee to produce a documentary tracing the culture of Black Bottom and the creativity of the architectural team along with early and present neighbors. Johnson’s research has found that past residents included Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder of Motown and Detroit

Tigers pitcher Earl Wilson. Residents of one building, the Parc Lafayette, have included two of the original Four Tops and the first black teller from the National Bank of Detroit. In the future, more young people may be attracted to Lafayette Park because of recreational amenities. The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan’s Greenways Initiative and the Michigan Department of Transportation have invested $3.4 million to build a bike and walking path between the Detroit River and Eastern Market, paving a long-dormant rail bed called the Dequindre Cut. “You had a real sense of community; the parents collectively watched over us,” Johnson recalls. He went away to college, moved to Nashville for a couple of years, found a home on the northwest side of Detroit and bought his mother’s townhouse in 1990 with his wife, Joanne. “Most of the kids that grew up here turned out well. We are freethinkers, part of the political intelligentsia and academia. We contribute to society.”

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Downtown Detroit represents growth opportunities for great local merchants who understand that a location in the heart of the Campus Martius district presents limitless possibilities for success.

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Kevin Johnson grew up in Lafayette Park and returned as an adult. On the left are Mies van der Rohe-designed townhouses; the 1300 Lafayette co-op is in the background.

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K ERN W OODWARD A SSOCIATES , LLC

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Living and Investing in the D: Neighborhoods The grand city tour o who lives in Detroit’s stronger neighborhoods?

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Most of the people we spoke with have the means to live in more affluent, less-troubled cities, but they’ve chosen Detroit.

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They appreciate the diversity in their communities and embrace the different cultures represented there. Whether they grew up in Detroit or have moved here from other parts of the country, these residents have cultivated a deep love for the city and hold fast to their hope for its renaissance. — JoAnn Amicangelo

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They are people captivated by the city’s architecturally significant housing stock and see themselves as caretakers of residential gems from a bygone era. They value the sense of community that permeates their urban neighborhoods — something they say doesn’t exist to the same degree in the suburbs.

square feet Price range: $100,000-$525,000 Boundaries: North of Arden Neighborhood amenities: The Park Boulevard, south of East neighborhood association enjoys Boston Boulevard, east of Wood- a good working relationship with ward Avenue, west of Oakland Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Avenue. where neighborhood meetings History: Realtor Max Broock and some functions are held. Resnamed this historic neighbor- urrected two years ago after hood Arden Park in 1890 when he more than a decade of inactivity, developed the sixthe association also block area. As Desponsors social troit’s commercial events such as famiand industrial secly picnics, ice cream tors grew, a large socials and a fall group of nouveau harvest party on the riche industrialgreen spaces in the ists, merchants district. They’ve and professionals been able to make built single-family repairs to common homes here. Noted Arden Park-East Boston areas and are workDetroit architects ing on bringing of the day, includback a program for ton ing Smith, HinchBos snow removal and k man & Grylls and Par security patrol. The n e George D. Mason, Ard association is curdesigned fabulous rently working to homes for the ensure 100 percent neighborhood’s occupancy and first residents, inmaintenance of cluding Broock, property in accorFrederick Fisher, dance with historic John Dodge and standards to mainJ.L. Hudson. Deed restrictions tain the fellowship and camaduring the original plotting re- raderie among neighbors who quired the homes to be 2½ sto- own and love historic homes. ries and made of brick or stone. Home tour: In June. Association fee: $60/year Web site: www.neighborhoodlink.com/detroit/apeb Home owner’s story: LaDonna Walker-Little As a child, LaDonna WalkerLittle always wanted to live in a historic home, and in particular, one in the Arden Park-East Boston district. As an adult, she moved to a home in the BostonEdison district and was determined to be content with it. “But then six years ago, the house I now own became availPHOTOS BY DON KUREK able, and the rest is history,” Ernest Little and LaDonna Walker-Little said Walker-Little, sales agent chose to stay in Detroit and help stabilize for Real Estate One and presitheir Arden Park neighborhood. dent of the neighborhood assoToday: A diverse cultural and ciation. racial mix of residents ranging Once owned by Max Broock, from young families to senior- the house is a brick and stone, aged. Most are professionals. 2½-story Tudor-style beauty with Historic designations: National gothic details on the inside. Her property includes a three-car Number of homes: 92 Architectural styles/sizes: Shin- garage and a carriage house. gle style, Italian Renaissance, Quarter-sawn oak paneling covFrench Renaissance, Colonial ers the walls in the foyer and livRevival, Tudor-Elizabethan, ing room, giving the space the “libungalow, Prairie; 2,500 to 11,000 brary look” Walker-Little was

Arden Park-East Boston

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WHO BUYS

HISTORIC HOMES? Historic neighborhood specialist Doris Thiele, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Schweitzer in Grosse Pointe Farms, said there are two types of historic-home buyers. “The professionals buy in wellestablished historical neighborhoods and choose a home that has already had much of the restoration work done. Since they don’t necessarily have the expertise to do the restoration work themselves, they are willing to pay to have it done,” said Thiele, who has been selling real estate for 20 years. Thiele refers to the second type of buyer as the “pioneers.” They are willing to buy in less-established yet promising neighborhoods, have a vision to restore the home to its original authenticity and do much of the restoration work themselves. “They want to be the one to tell the rest of the metro Detroit area how important this particular neighborhood and house is in its history. They get so involved in ordering accurate plaster moldings. They want to be as authentic as possible,” she said. — JoAnn Amicangelo looking for. Though Walker-Little had to do a considerable amount of work to restore the home to its original glamour — replacing the heating system, rebuilding the large wraparound porch and cutting down about 30 trees — she is glad she’s had the opportunity to live in her dream home. “I love Detroit, and I figure that if everybody who can afford to move out does move out, we will have lost a real gem. So we’ve chosen to stay and try to help stabilize. And I think that’s true of everyone in our neighborhood. They could live practically anywhere else, but they definitely decided to remain or become a Detroiter,” Walker-Little said. — JoAnn Amicangelo

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

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Living and Investing in the D: Neighborhoods the block from her parents because she’d always loved Boundaries: North of Edison, south of the neighborhood. Boston, east of Linwood, west of Woodward “I always loved historic History: Said to be the largest residential homes after growing up in historic district in the country, Boston Edithis house and I always son was home to prominent Detroiters loved this house. My parents such as Henry Ford, Stanley S. Kresge, B. and I had talked about (my Siegel, James Couzens, Walter Briggs, Hopurchasing it) for a couple of race Rackham, Ira Grinnell, Clarence Buryears while they snow-birdton and four of the seven Fisher brothers. ed between here and South They built mansions here between 1903 and Carolina. So when they de1940 “when Detroit was a hot, cided to make young city with people to the move perwatch for,” according to manent, I www.detroitrising.com. bought it,” Today: In more recent years, said Scott. an integrated group of profesScott’s sionals have begun purchashome is deing the homes and lovingly scribed as caring for them. American Eclectic style with Historic designations: NaMediterranean influences retional, state, local flected in its stucco exterior, Boston Edison Number of homes: 930 brick detailing, wrought iron Architectural styles/sizes: balcony over an arched covAmerican Eclectic with Italered entrance and a trio of ianate, Mediterranean and ton s arched windows in the suno B Four Square influences; Italson room. Inside, scrolled 10 Edi ian Renaissance; Venetian wrought iron and arched enRenaissance; Tudor; Geortryways add to the home’s gian Colonial. Home sizes Mediterranean feel. range from 2,000 to more than Since moving in, Scott has 12,000 square feet. made a number of changes to Price range: $100,000the home’s interior. In the liv$600,000 (most sell between ing room, she added a mantle $150,000-$325,000) and new tile work to the original limestone Neighborhood amenities: The Historic fireplace and created tiled window benches along the front wall of the room. She also Boston-Edison Association, which claims to be “the oldest, continually operating organization of its kind in Michigan,” sponsors an annual holiday home tour, Easter egg hunt, Halloween party, family fun day and Art in the Park. Boston Edison Development Inc. is an organization of neighbors investing in the neighborhood by buying and restoring abandoned homes. Home tour: Dec. 17. Call (313) 883-4360. Association fee: $40/year Web site: www.neighborhoodlink.com/ detroit/hbe Home owner’s story: Carla Scott Carla Scott, 41, interim medical director, Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility, lives in the house she grew up in with her eight brothers and sisters in the historic Boston-Edison district. She purchased the 5,500-square-foot, two-story, four-bedroom home from her parents in 2001 when they decided to move south. They had lived there for 38 years. The home was originally built in 1914 by Andrew and Elsa Wineman, department-store owners. Scott, who was elected to the Detroit Board of Education for District 1 last year, had returned to the Detroit area in 1998 after completing a residency program in internal medicine and pediatrics in Houston, Texas. She said she rented a home around

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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

FALL 2006

PHOTOS BY JOHN SOBCZAK

Carla Scott bought her Boston-Edison home from her parents after they moved south.

restored an opening between the living room and sunroom that had been sealed off and remodeled the basement. In the two-story foyer with ceramic tile floor, Scott painted the walls a deep red, reflecting the splashes of color Scott added to her mother’s once all-white walls. Today, Scott enjoys living in the home of her childhood with her one-year-old son, Arline Lile, whom she adopted from Ethiopia last year. She is engaged to be married to Ahamed Lile, a juvenile corrections officer, and plans to stay in the home until she retires. — JoAnn Amicangelo

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Living and Investing in the D: Neighborhoods ment for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Detroit. “We had a beautiful Victorian-era home in Boundaries: South of I-94, north and west Mt. Clemens that had been the mayor’s resof I-75, east of the Lodge Freeway. idence. The only reason I agreed is because History: What is now called Midtown, every time he’s ever had a vision for someBrush Park especially, was once home to thing, it’s always worked out.” some of Detroit’s prominent citizens. On Darryl Hicks, 50, manager of agency relalarge and expensive lots retions for Gleaners Community quiring buyers to build Food Bank in Detroit, had held “elaborate homes within a onto a vision to live in one of the specified time limit,” peocity’s historic neighborhoods ple like J.L. Hudson, David since he was a teenager growWhitney, Michigan ing up in northwest Detroit. Supreme Court Justice He did buy a home in Brush James Campbell and Delos Park in 1985 for $1,000 with Rice, founder of the Fulton the intention of restoring it, Iron Works, built two- and but a number of delays in three-story, mostly Victoridealing with the city on tax an-style brick and stone abatements and contractors mansions in the 1870s. By stalled his efforts. the early 1900s, new multi“And after buying this family housing was built Midtown/Brush Park home with Helen, there weren’t and existing homes were enough resources to do both,” converted to apartment said Darryl Hicks. buildings or rooming 94 75 Knowing they’d need all the houses to accommodate money they could gather to renthe flood of immigrants ar10 ovate the house, the couple sold riving as industry grew. 375 their home in Mt. Clemens and Today: Though much of moved in with Darryl’s sister Brush Park’s historic thinking it would take four to housing stock was lost to five months to make a couple of the neighborhood’s near the rooms livable. Three demise over the years, urmonths later, it was clear their ban pioneers have begun to renovate the few homes that remain. At original timetable had been ambitious. the same time, the restoration of aban- Contractors discovered joists unhinged doned buildings and loft and condo develop- from outer walls, leaky plumbing everyment in the area is bringing new life to the where and an electrical system too antiquated to simply repair. neighborhood. So they purHistoric designations: Local chased another Number of housing units: About 4,000 Architectural styles/sizes: Ranges from loft historic home renovations and rental apartments to new in Mt. Clemens they condos and the Victorian homes of Brush where would live for Park; up to 7,600 square feet the next four Price range: $100,000-$400,000 Neighborhood amenities: Midtown offers years while coninwalkable access to the Cultural Center, De- tractors troit Medical Center and Wayne State Uni- stalled a new versity. Comerica Park, Ford Field and the roof and two furnaces, fixed Fox Theatre are nearby. the plumbing Home tour: No problems, ran Association fee: None new electrical Web site: www.detroitmidtown.com Home owners’ story: Helen and Darryl wiring, covered original plaster Hicks Helen Hicks, 49, thought her new hus- with drywall, the band, Darryl Hicks, 50, was crazy when he replaced said he wanted to buy a 5,000-square-foot, massive secondthree-story Victorian in Brush Park in 2001 and third-floor for $131,000. The roof and floor in the windows and kitchen of the home built in 1893 were renovated the nonexistent, some of the architectural de- kitchen. In 2005, gave tails had been removed and sold by the pre- Helen vious owner and drug dealers and prosti- birth to their second son. tutes were renting rooms in it. Though the “I thought he was out of his mind,” said Helen Hicks, vice president of fund develop- restoration was

Midtown/Brush Park

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DEFINING HISTORIC DISTRICTS A historic district is a group of buildings that have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the State of Michigan Historic Register, or has been designated, by ordinance, as a Local Historic District by the Detroit Historic District Commission. Historic designations help stabilize and improve property values, foster civic beauty, preserve the city’s heritage and strengthen the local economy. ■ A National Register Designation provides national recognition of the property with essentially no control as to the disposition of the property including demolition, unless federal funding, licensing or assistance is involved. The property may qualify for federal tax credits. ■ State Historic Designation provides formal recognition of the historical significance of a building, object or site without imposing restrictions on use or disposition. A marker may be placed at the site explaining its significance. ■ Local Historic Designation is a process initiated locally. This designation requires that all construction, alteration, repair, moving or demolition of structures within the district be approved by the Historic District Commission. The property may qualify for state tax credits. Source: University Cultural Center Association Web site, www.detroitmidtown.com.

far from complete, the Hicks moved into their home last fall with his and her children from a previous marriage and their two young sons. Today, they live in the midst of a myriad of restoration projects in the home, yet remain optimistic that Darryl’s vision for the home — and the neighborhood’s rebirth — will become a reality. — JoAnn Amicangelo

PHOTOS BY JOHN F. MARTIN

Helen Hicks thought her husband, Darryl, was out of his mind when he said he wanted to buy their Victorian in Brush Park in 2001. But she trusted his vision. After several years of renovations, they moved into the home last fall.

CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

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