History of Southfield becoming the commercial and business hub of Metro Detroit?

[Detroitnerd]

Do you know the figures for each city? I would imagine Southfield being significantly more than Troy.

I tried adding it up, and Troy seemed to be somewhere between 15 and 20 million square feet of office space.

So Southfield would have something more than that, perhaps 20 million or more square feet of office space.

[Detroitnerd]

By commercial space, do you mean office space?

Southfield actually has considerably more office space than Detroit.

If you mean "commercial" as in office-industrial-flex space, then I'm sure it would be Detroit, because it's the biggest city. Some place like Warren might actually be #2, because of all the industrial and flex buildings. Southfield doesn't have a big industrial sector, though it does have flex.

I researched the topic heavily, using press clippings and promotional materials spread out over 40 or 50 years. The figures were from many different sources, and this was about 2007, so I doubt much has changed since then. My research showed the total office space in Troy, and it was confirmed by several sources that Detroit was first, Southfield second, and Troy third. It really isn't such a surprise. Detroit had a huge headstart, has much more land area, and the figures likely include all classes of office space. In fact, given the way most of our start-ups are lean and mean, the appeal of older office space isn't as scant as most conventional analysts might think.

Give or take 3 million, Troy topped out at about 15 to 20 million square feet of office space when I added up the figures. Bear in mind, the old K-mart headquarters, after its expansions, was just 2 million in itself right there.

Now, bear in mind, we're talking office space. K-mart's old digs count whether it's leased or not, just as the Broderick counts whether it's leased or not.

[gazhekwe]

Eastside Al, from the time frame and description of the homes, it was probably Northland Gardens, north of 8 Mile and east of Southfield. There are some incredible homes in there, with all possible add-ons of the day. Development of that sector was encouraged by the developers of Northland. Immediately north is Magnolia, an older neighborhood with some beautiful 20s and 30s brick homes, Tudor, Georgian and more.

Washington Heights is a runner up, though development began earlier, in the 20s, by Lee Baker. This describes the people who built here in the 60s. Most of my neighbors here are still doctors, lawyers, executives. His new neighbors were all doctors and lawyers and some local celebrity newspaper writers and broadcasters.

[gazhekwe]

For those who love Midcentury design there are some incredible deals here. This place sold from its original owner in the mid-300s about ten years ago, and is now up for grabs and a real steal. It is getting a lot of traffic and I bet it will bid up quite a bit. As far as I know, it has not been trashed or stripped and has been maintained. Last owners moved out this spring. Look at that glass block bar! Original details, little if any remuddling. 4 bed / 3 full, 2 partial bath
3,118 sqft $109,900


http://www.trulia.com/property/30992...-48075#photo-9

Here is another, a ranch with unique details

• 
  
  • 3.5 bath
  • 4,333 sqft
  • ingle-Family Home, 165,000:

http://www.trulia.com/homes/Michigan...field-MI-48075

[Detroitdave]

Ok this is it .. I think , The first mall , as we know it today , enclosed, air condition ect is this one , I saw a special on PBS about this mall also .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southdale_Center
The first mall is the country perse is this one in KC, Mo 1922
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_A...or_established
Northland was started in 1952, but not completed until 1954 also when it was first built it wasn't enclosed .
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_A...or_established
I hope this helps !

[canuck]

I'm wondering though, what would be the oldest strip mall in Detroit proper?

[Novine]

Southfield, Detroit and Troy according to Crains.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ected-to-climb

Source for Crains article with breakdown by community.

http://www.ngkf.com/Uploads/FileMana...t%20Report.pdf

and industrial which isn't broken out by community except Ann Arbor, which may be larger than city, and Detroit.

http://www.ngkf.com/Uploads/FileMana...t%20Report.pdf

[Bham1982]

Also if you drive down the Northwestern/Lodge service drive the office abandonment is creeping further up to evergreen/10 mile.

Hell, there's an abandoned, gutted office building right at Evergreen/12 Mile, right next to the "Mort Crim Center" or whatever they call that building. I pass by every weekday, and it looks ready for the bulldozers.

[DetroitPlanner]

Keep in mind that Southfield has had a lot of its commercial space ripped down. Particularly around Northland or tel-12 Malls. Much of it has not been replaced, or replaced with less square feet. If it still had that, its numbers would be higher.

Southfield is where Detroit was in the late 1970's/early 80's. A lot has been lost and there will be continous change over time.

[RickBeall]

God, I hate "mid-century modern". That name is like sticking lipstick on a pig. I guess it is because I grew up in Southfield. A more apt name for me would be "mid-century blah" or "Stunted Futre". I don't like the Yamasaki designs either. I don't want to work in a building masquerading as Chinese paper folding. It all looks like a "future" that happened in 1970.

The only Yamasaki I ever liked was on the Wayne State campus. There is a small building with a paper folding wall around it, with a lot of plants and vines inside the wall, and it gave the instant impression of peace and being in the country. Did I say that? No! I hate it too!

[D_Town]

Hell, there's an abandoned, gutted office building right at Evergreen/12 Mile, right next to the "Mort Crim Center" or whatever they call that building. I pass by every weekday, and it looks ready for the bulldozers.

Also reminds of that Uptown Eatery which needs be torn down [[its on on 12 mile just east of evergreen). There is a few office buildings around 10 and Lahser that looks abandoned too.

[Novine]

The problem for Southfield is that there's plenty of newer office alternatives in the suburbs and those are more attractive than much of what Southfield has to offer. Like Detroit before it, Southfield is discovering that the lifecycle of commercial development is pretty much limited to one generation at which point the prime lessees seek out newer locations.

[48009]

Southfield's growth into a business and commercial center in the Detroit area is relatively easy to explain. To begin with, it was along the first expressway built out to the north of Detroit [[which was itself built along the route of an already major highway - Northwestern/James Couzens).

That's what I was looking for. I didn't know 10/Lodge/Northwestern Hwy was the first expressway. So decision makers were moving to the NW suburbs and wanted to relocate operations out of the city, but wanted a convenient business and commercial center that wasn't actually in their enclave, Southfield it is.

Was there something that really sparked Troy? What about Auburn Hills? Southfield is still a hub, is it not, or have businesses been fleeing?

[Hermod]

That's what I was looking for. I didn't know 10/Lodge/Northwestern Hwy was the first expressway. So decision makers were moving to the NW suburbs and wanted to relocate operations out of the city, but wanted a convenient business and commercial center that wasn't actually in their enclave, Southfield it is.

Was there something that really sparked Troy? What about Auburn Hills? Southfield is still a hub, is it not, or have businesses been fleeing?

When I worked for the city of Troy [[1959), it was newly incorporated and just starting to lay public water and sewer [[most were on septic tanks and wells). There were quite a few subdivisions going in, but commercial development was pretty much restricted to the "mile road" intersections.

Th major strip mall development came when population density reached a level to support it. Office development [[especially along Big Beaver) was a function of the arrival of I-75.

In 1959, the alignment of I-75 through Troy was still only in a very general "concept" stage. Heck, in 1961, the alignment of the Chrysler [[I-75) north of the Ford [[I-94) interchange complex was still not into detail design.

[Kathleen]

Was there something that really sparked Troy?

What role did Stephenson Highway have in the development of Troy? After all, it was a highway that led from Detroit out to Big Beaver Rd.

[48009]

When I worked for the city of Troy [[1959), it was newly incorporated and just starting to lay public water and sewer [[most were on septic tanks and wells). There were quite a few subdivisions going in, but commercial development was pretty much restricted to the "mile road" intersections.

Th major strip mall development came when population density reached a level to support it. Office development [[especially along Big Beaver) was a function of the arrival of I-75.

In 1959, the alignment of I-75 through Troy was still only in a very general "concept" stage. Heck, in 1961, the alignment of the Chrysler [[I-75) north of the Ford [[I-94) interchange complex was still not into detail design.

I had no idea the Chrysler was that "new". Can you detail the build out going north of Detroit [[Chrysler)? The Wiki page for I-75 doesn't do a very thorough job. It sounds like I-75 from Flint to Pontiac was completed long before the Detroit to Pontiac was? I'd assume this was due to GM's influence? Even Saginaw and Flint were connected before those?

[Novine]

According to this timeline, I-75 was constructed through what was then Pontiac Township in the early 1960s. Auburn Hills incorporated as a city in 1984. At the time the city incorporated, 55% of the land was vacant. In 1986, Chrysler made the decision to relocate their world headquarters from Highland Park. That was really the spark that set off development in Auburn Hills. Based on its location on I-75, it likely would have taken off eventually but Chrysler's decision to locate there and the development of the surrounding properties really accelerated that process.

http://www.auburnhills.org/community...s_Timeline.pdf

[DTWflyer]

This site has a very comprehensive history of I-75, and any other state highway in Michigan.
http://www.michiganhighways.org/list...-79.html#I-075
I-75 first was in the Flint are utilizing the existing Fenton-Clio highway. The next extension a few years later by 1962 extended I-75 from M-24 north of Pontiac to Flint.
1963 was when I-75 opened through Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Twp, and Troy. The full length of I-75 from downtown Detroit to 8 Mile was not completed until 1968.

Troy really got going in the mid 60s when I-75 opened, first with Oakland Mall. Not too longer there after Somerset Mall opened and the large Somerset Apartments complex was built-out through the late 60s/early 70s. This also included the Somerset Inn, and the Somerset Auto-mall complexes. Top-of-Troy opened in the early 70s.

You can find a lot of 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s era residential development throughout Troy. The portions that bordered Warren, Clawson, and Birmingham where some of the first to develop. Other areas depended on when the land owners held out and sold to developers.

My parents lived in Somerset apartments back in the early 70s, when it was known as Sin City. It was "the place" to be for young people, and they talk about some pretty wild pool parties there back in the day. They have pictures of Top-of Troy being built. SEPTA used to run a feeder bus over to the Birmingham train station to catch the commuter trains to downtown.

I remember when Big-Beaver was still mostly a two-lane road up through the mid/late 80s. Somerset mall was only one story until the late 80s/early 90s, then of course followed by Somerset North which opened in 1996. We used to buy Christmas trees in the field where Somerset North now stands. The office buildings to the west of K-Mart HQ [[Sheffield Office Park) went up in the mid/late 1980s.

The "new" Troy High opened in 1992, which was around the time when they built-out the Oak River subdivisions, and that whole swath roughly bordered by Wattles, Beach, Long Lake, Crooks. There used to be a large farm including a barn & silo right there at Coolidge & Long Lake. Long Lake and Crooks where 2 lane roads until sometime in the early-90s.

Eastern Troy is a little older too, much of the area east of Livernois was 1970s era homes.

Some of the last areas to build out where the office park at Long Lake & Crooks. White Chapel Cemetary across the street was been there since the early 1960s. Some of the last large-scale subdivisions went up in the mid/late 90s near Crooks and Square Lake / South Blvd. Troy School District sold off a large parcel of land behind Firefighters park about 10 years ago, that saw people camping out to hold a place in line to buy lots.

Troy was really a hodge-podge of development across the city, spanning across 4 decades.

[Hermod]

What role did Stephenson Highway have in the development of Troy? After all, it was a highway that led from Detroit out to Big Beaver Rd.

Stephenson ended just north of 15 mile and had factory development on both sides. North of 15 mile, Stephenson merged into the then two lane Rochester Road. Stephenson was there long before Troy began to develop.

[Hermod]

I had no idea the Chrysler was that "new". Can you detail the build out going north of Detroit [[Chrysler)? The Wiki page for I-75 doesn't do a very thorough job. It sounds like I-75 from Flint to Pontiac was completed long before the Detroit to Pontiac was? I'd assume this was due to GM's influence? Even Saginaw and Flint were connected before those?

In 1961, the Chrysler ended at the Ford with a temporary ramp. The Ford ended at Gratiot. The Lodge went out to Northwestern Highway. The Fisher and Jeffries were pipedreams. Holbrook was as far north as detailed planning went for the Chrysler. Gratiot was bumper to bumper morning and evening with two and three cycles necessary to get through the Harper and Connor lights.

[DTWflyer]

One of the older sections of Troy was at the northeast corner of Rochester & Big Beaver. Big Beaver School was in there, dating back to the 1920's/30s, but then heavily renovated/expanded. The school was eventually torn down around 2005.

The other older area was the Troy corners area at Livernois & Square Lake.

[Detroitnerd]

That's what I was looking for. I didn't know 10/Lodge/Northwestern Hwy was the first expressway.

In the 1980s, writer Joel Garreau popularized the term "Edge City," which is basically the first stage of commercial flight from central cities. It's basically a place where a road out from a city meets other roads that go around cities. He says the first was our New Center of the 1920s.

Of course, he made it sound very grand, and poked fun of people who still thought maybe we should have businesses in central core cities.

[EastsideAl]

Stephenson ended just north of 15 mile and had factory development on both sides. North of 15 mile, Stephenson merged into the then two lane Rochester Road. Stephenson was there long before Troy began to develop.

Stephenson Hwy. was originally built as a right-of-way for a streetcar line from Detroit to Royal Oak, which is why development along there was somewhat older and more industrial. But, given the industrial development through that corridor, and the need to move workers in/out of the area, aligning I-75 on or near Stephenson was a natural idea.

[Hermod]

Stephenson Hwy. was originally built as a right-of-way for a streetcar line from Detroit to Royal Oak, which is why development along there was somewhat older and more industrial. But, given the industrial development through that corridor, and the need to move workers in/out of the area, aligning I-75 on or near Stephenson was a natural idea.

You have the Chrysler alignment coming north out of the city and the I-75 alignment coming south out of Flint and Pontiac. The two got merged through Troy by the cheapest [[in terms of condemnation compensation) routes through the city.

[EastsideAl]

But there was still some hassle, as I remember, about the route through Hazel Park. Hence the infamous 9 Mile/John R curve, which I believe was in the last section of the freeway to open sometime around 1970, give or take a year.

But once that section, and the Fisher Fwy., were finally all open by the early '70s, there was much ballyhoo about how I-75 was finally done, and how it ran end to end in Michigan, from Toledo to the Sault.