Lofts in Detroit?

[antonyj11]

People on this forum seem to know a great deal more about Detroit than I do so I thought I'd throw this question out there.

I just moved into a temporary place in Hamtramck yesterday for about a month but I'm seriously considering buying an apartment in Detroit - hopefully by mid-January. However, I'm not quite sure where to start or what the best resources to use are. I came across a mention of a place called Midtown Apartments on 93 Seward St. in the New Center area a few days ago in another discussion board and I was wondering if anyone here has heard anything about it. I thought I'd head over and check it out tomorrow but any background information would be wonderful.

I'm hoping to find a studio/1-bedroom for about 80-90K in a developing area - if anyone has any suggestions at all, they would be very much appreciated...

[Allan]

I would look at New Center, Midtown, and Corktown. It seems to me that it might be a bit of a challenge to find a unit for sale in your price range. The newer projects are almost all rentals because if historic tax credits are used, the building must remain a rental building for 5 years. This is what is happening with the Lofts at Woodward, the Lofts at Merchants Row, Kales Building, Book Building, Etc. The for sale condos are mostly luxury units. I will definately keep my eye out, and good luck!

[atperry]

Try www.citylivingdetroit.com

[baldy]

Yeah, the city living site is a gerat resource.

If you're looking to buy, there are places that have condos in your range. The Park Shelton (just north of the DIA) is being converted into condos. It is a very cool building in the heart of the cultural area and I believe they start around $75,000. Besides being a great building for teh 1920's, it is going to be filled with lots of nice amentties including access to a sundeck on the roof with great views of downtown which you'll have to invite everyone over to use! The only problem is that they aren't going to be ready until fall. This is one of the places that always has someone around to answer questions and show you the models. Even if you're not interested, I highly recommend going there and seeing what they're doing to the place. I did it a few weeks ago and it was well worth it.

I believe the Kales is strictly an apartment building and you won't be able to eventually purchase it like the lofts of merchants row. I would also suggest just driving around. There are a lot of places around that have for sale, for lease and for rents signs up. Many of these places I have not seen advertised any where except the windows. If I were only 5-10 years younger and single, I'd be moving down there too!

[Allan]

The Kales is converting to condos in five years. That is why the developers are using such high quality materials. Normally they wouldn't even think about putting hardwood floors into apartments!

I didn't realize that the Park Shelton started at $75,000! What a deal!! If only I was 5 years older.... Now seems like an excellent time to invest in the city.

I just took a look at the Park Shelton website, and it definately seems to be worth cheking out.

http://www.theparkshelton.com/index.htm

You can't go wrong with a view and location like this!

[antonyj11]

I have to say that this is pretty exciting. I've kind of been researching Detroit from afar for about 5 months now but this is my first time actually venturing down to the city. The Park Shelton is in an amazing location and the prices do seem reasonable given the area. A 453 square foot studio at $75k would work out to about $165/square foot which is not too bad. However, I'm looking at another place in the New Center area that works out to around $85/square foot which is a lot cheaper. Granted, the area around the building is nowhere near as nice but I was wondering how people felt about its potential for the future. (Getting off-topic, if a Light Rail line is built, I think straight down Woodward would be a good choice).

I'm not going to sugarcoat it though; there is a lot of work that needs to be done for Detroit to reemerge as a world-class city. However, the base is certainly in place and with a directed effort, it can be done.

Would anyone on this forum be interested in driving around (it sucks that we have to drive because there's no mass transit) and visiting some of the different neighborhoods in the city? I think that might fun...