Victoria Park Subdivision

Victoria Park is a newer, 90s subdivision located a few blocks south of Jefferson in Jefferson Chalmers. It looks to be in great condition- taking a drive around on street view, the entrance is landscaped nicely and almost every house looks kept up to a certain degree. Yet not much exists on the internet about this interesting microcosm of Detroit history from the 1990s.

-Why was it build, and who built it?
-What used to be on the site of the subdivision? How was land cleared to build the subdivision?
-Who originally lived in Victoria Park when it was first built in ~1995, and who lives there today?
-Has the neighborhood declined in quality since it was first built, or has it gotten better?

And the question that will surely cause the most debate... should this kind of neighborhood be built in other parts of the city? [[i.e. north of Jefferson, south of Kercheval, west of Alter?)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MicrosoftFan

Victoria Park is a newer, 90s subdivision located a few blocks south of Jefferson in Jefferson Chalmers. It looks to be in great condition- taking a drive around on street view, the entrance is landscaped nicely and almost every house looks kept up to a certain degree. Yet not much exists on the internet about this interesting microcosm of Detroit history from the 1990s.

-Why was it built, and who built it? It was built because the city was desperate for somebody to build new houses in Detroit and they subsidized it heavily. They basically wanted to be able to say "see, we're not as horrible as you think we are. We have new houses being built". Until this development was started there hadn't been a building permit for a single-family home pulled in 30 or more years in the city.

It was built by a developer whose name escapes me at the moment. I seem to recall it was a local concern that may no longer be in business. I could be wrong on this and if someone has the answer please let me know.

-What used to be on the site of the subdivision? A typical impoverished, crime-ridden, heavily abandoned Detroit neighborhood.

How was land cleared to build the subdivision? With bulldozers and other heavy machinery

-Who originally lived in Victoria Park when it was first built in ~1995, and who lives there today? ​Regular ordinary everyday people of no particular local or national prominence.


-Has the neighborhood declined in quality since it was first built, or has it gotten better? The homes built there are your typical inexpensively built, 1990s Macomb Twp style subdivision homes. They were built with cheap materials and have no architectural merit. While they seem to be in decent shape today I wouldn't count on them being too viable 30 years from now. The surrounding neighborhoods outside of Victoria resemble Dresden in 1945.

And the question that will surely cause the most debate... should this kind of neighborhood be built in other parts of the city? [[i.e. north of Jefferson, south of Kercheval, west of Alter? Building a development like this in the City of Detroit is a tremendous financial risk with very little potential of significant return on investment. Without hefty subsidies from the city or state you would be hard pressed to make the numbers work. I certainly would never invest in such a project as the risk far outweighs any potential reward.

---

The answers to your query appear in red text above.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SyGolden48236

The answers to your query appear in red text above.

---

^^^What he said.

And to answer your question about the area north of Jefferson, this was planned during the real estate bubble.

http://www.detroiturbex.com/content/...eek/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk4bAqONfgc

Obviously, this proposal has long since been dead in the water.

There is also the incomplete Jefferson Village development west of St. Jean that's anchored by the now nearly vacant shopiping center with Parkway Foods.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/j...lage11607.aspx

Well my Aunt and uncle live there now and have been there close to ten years now and I would say the area is still nice. During the housing crisis they bought it at about 80. Now houses are selling for well over that. Who ever would say the houses were cheaply built hasn't been inside one the houses or driven through there.