Philadelphia Street Home Renovations

**Pcm** · May-06-14, 05:13 PM

Has anyone else noticed the half dozen houses being renovated on Philadelphia between the Lodge service drive and 3rd?

One has a completely new facade that looks beautiful and contemporary. The others are obviously in the early stages. If they all end up looking like the one that's almost done, it will be a big big step up.

I'll try and get pictures one of these days.

**animatedmartian** · May-06-14, 05:31 PM

Perhaps it has something to do with the Live Midtown incentives now including Boston-Edison. That's great to hear either way.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · May-06-14, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Perhaps it has something to do with the Live Midtown incentives now including Boston-Edison. That's great to hear either way.

Wasn't Philadelphia the original boundary of that initiative, before it got expanded to include B-E? Looking forward to seeing some pics!

**animatedmartian** · May-06-14, 06:09 PM

I think it was, but with the street probably being on the boundary and only one side being included, it probably didn't get much attention. But with the expanded boundaries it's fully included now. That or maybe there's really just a lot of demand spilling over into BE now.

**motz** · May-07-14, 10:29 AM

I have some friends who live on Euclid by Woodrow Wilson and they've noticed work being done on several houses in their area. I would really love to see that area come back, even just a bit. Really cool huge houses, and most seem to be in a state where they can be saved.

**Pcm** · May-07-14, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by motz

Really cool huge houses, and most seem to be in a state where they can be saved.

I agree. Rare tree-lined streets as well. Intact blocks [[for the most part) and just a few blocks away from New Center Commons and Grand Blvd.

I'll try to get pictures after work today.

**motz** · May-07-14, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by Pcm

I agree. Rare tree-lined streets as well. Intact blocks [[for the most part) and just a few blocks away from New Center Commons and Grand Blvd.

I'll try to get pictures after work today.

On the note of intact blocks, the blocks that have some empty pockets have really done a stellar job on maintaining the vacant properties and keeping them somewhat clear from brush and such. My friend [[who purchased the house and moved from Pittsburgh) says the neighbors are very friendly and that they all work together to try and keep the neighborhood as solid as possible. Pretty cool place if you ask me!

**Pcm** · May-07-14, 07:08 PM

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**animatedmartian** · May-07-14, 07:53 PM

Wow, nice pics. Those kind of look like some professional jobs. High quality too.

**Pcm** · May-07-14, 08:38 PM

Yea, I'm pretty interested to see how the red duplex turns out. Looks like they're doing away with the upper porch. Could be an interesting transformation.

The house in the first image would fit right in with what is being built in Birmingham right now. Wide wood siding and trim seems to be in season right now.

**Lowell** · May-07-14, 08:55 PM

Nice pictures and update Pcm. Thanks.

**DetroitPlanner** · May-07-14, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by Pcm

Wide wood siding and trim seems to be in season right now.

The siding may be concrete. It needs less paint and is more durable. http://www.menards.com/main/building...nt/c-13382.htm

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · May-07-14, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Wow, nice pics. Those kind of look like some professional jobs. High quality too.

Surprisingly professional and high quality from the looks of things.

I took a trip down the street on google maps. When the google pic was taken there was a nice big side-by-side duplex to the left of the green house that is shedding its siding. Its gone now; too bad as that would have been nice to see brought back. I wonder who is doing this work?

Oddly, while on google maps I saw was appears to be a new house at 700, all shiny and new among the desolation.

**Pcm** · May-12-14, 08:23 PM

Took a spin through this neighborhood again. I saw sign for Vanguard CDC. Could that be the developer?

**Danny** · May-13-14, 06:39 AM

It's a start to eliminate blight and abandonment in the ghetto hoods of Detroit. I can't wait until those young professional move in.

**Pcm** · July-07-14, 07:23 PM

The NYT article this morning about North End had this interesting paragraph:

"The Duggan administration has started forcing owners to fix up their abandoned or run-down properties or lose them, an initiative that already has targeted dozens of homes in two of the North End’s finer areas and is expected to reach Arden Park by year’s end. The city has paid developers to rehabilitate almost 40 abandoned houses in a 24-block area just west of Woodward and to get them occupied by the end of the year."

Perhaps this is who's responsible for the work?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/us...oto-spot&_r=1#

**DetroitPlanner** · July-07-14, 08:49 PM

I was born and raised on West Philadelphia.
I can remember as a child spending most days on the play ground.
I was childish, relaxed and acted foolish.
I met a couple of people who were there to cause trouble.
So I left that hood on the Double.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-07-14, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by Pcm

The NYT article this morning about North End had this interesting paragraph:

"The Duggan administration has started forcing owners to fix up their abandoned or run-down properties or lose them, an initiative that already has targeted dozens of homes in two of the North End’s finer areas and is expected to reach Arden Park by year’s end. The city has paid developers to rehabilitate almost 40 abandoned houses in a 24-block area just west of Woodward and to get them occupied by the end of the year."

Perhaps this is who's responsible for the work?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/us...oto-spot&_r=1#

I also wondered if the renovations on Philadelphia are part of this effort. If you happen to travel down that street anytime soon, feel free to post some updated pics

I was a bit amused by the fact that while they say the houses being rehabbed are "west of Woodward", the initiative is "expected to reach Arden Park by year's end." I think perhaps its expected to reach Boston-Edison, unless Arden Park has been moved west of Woodward.

**Pcm** · July-26-14, 04:12 PM

I went by these houses a couple of weeks ago and took some updated photos:

https://imgur.com/a/MOEUe

It's really bizarre to see how many houses / apartments have been or are being renovated in this area. The neighborhood is patchwork, and what is occupied doesn't have much curb appeal.

This appears to be the group responsible for the work:

http://liferemodeled.com/

I must say, the work looks good. They could have cut corners and went with vinyl siding and other ugly bits but opted not to.

**animatedmartian** · July-26-14, 04:35 PM

That faux brick though. Or is that not brick? It's kind of hard to tell the texture through the photo but it probably does look better in person.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-26-14, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Pcm

I went by these houses a couple of weeks ago and took some updated photos:

https://imgur.com/a/MOEUe

It's really bizarre to see how many houses / apartments have been or are being renovated in this area. The neighborhood is patchwork, and what is occupied doesn't have much curb appeal.

This appears to be the group responsible for the work:

http://liferemodeled.com/

I must say, the work looks good. They could have cut corners and went with vinyl siding and other ugly bits but opted not to.

It looks like LifeRemodeled built that new house in the third pick and did other work in the neighborhood last year, but I'm not sure that they are doing the current renovations.

There is information on their website about a week of intense work around Cody HS for their 2014 project; and its August 11-17 if anyone wants to lend a hand.

**scottn55** · July-26-14, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

I was born and raised on West Philadelphia.
I can remember as a child spending most days on the play ground.
I was childish, relaxed and acted foolish.
I met a couple of people who were there to cause trouble.
So I left that hood on the Double.

You forgot to mention shooting baskets outside the school

**ismoakrack** · July-29-14, 01:30 PM

Does anyone know why this area was chosen to rehab a bunch of houses? Its great that this is getting done, but the area is far from being even close to rebounding, and still looks to be in decline. Unless these are HUD, doesn't make much sense.

**maverick1** · July-29-14, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by ismoakrack

Does anyone know why this area was chosen to rehab a bunch of houses? Its great that this is getting done, but the area is far from being even close to rebounding, and still looks to be in decline. Unless these are HUD, doesn't make much sense.

It makes sense if you're hedging your bet that what's happening in Midtown will trickle out due to Midtown being sewed up.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-29-14, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by maverick1

It makes sense if you're hedging your bet that what's happening in Midtown will trickle out due to Midtown being sewed up.

While there is still a ton of vacant land in Midtown, I hope that at some point the momentum will indeed spill over into nearby areas.

It would be nice if this gap between Boston Edison and New Center - where Philadelphia Street is - was not as large as it is. That would make it easier for redevelopment to spread south from Boston Edison and north from New Center and create a decent area uniting those two neighborhoods. On the other hand, this area is only three blocks wide from Woodward to the Lodge, and it really could have some potential in the future.