Originally Posted by
royce
I'm happy for the development in Brush Park. However, there are some design choices I am not pleased with. First, that beige brick on the majority of the City Modern condos is a poor color, especially when you see them built next to the historic houses. You can see in one of the Freep pictures how poor they look compared to the historic house. Even though the condo is not finished, when it is finished there'll be very little improvement. City Modern should have at least used brick on those condos on Alfred Street to match the historic houses on that block.
The second complaint I have is with the frontage of those beige condos. It would have been better to give everyone a huge concrete porch [[essentially a front deck/patio) that extended to the sidewalk instead of putting planters and grass in. I love grass but for a house not a condo. The grass and plants just gives the developer an excuse to charge you higher HOA fees. Also, do you see children's play equipment on the front lawns of most homes in Metro Detroit? I know the owner's don't have a backyard, but like parents in New York City, you take the kid's to a nearby park.
A third complaint I have deals with the proximity of the condos to the historic homes, especially the Ransom Gillis House. The condos are so close that there is literally no side yard or backyard or any room for entertaining. Given the Ransom Gillis home's stature, it should have been given some kind of yard that could display an historic fountain or garden or room for tourists to mingle when leaving the house after a tour. The two buildings next to it [[one in back and one to the east in the front) are huge and encroach on one's ability to enjoy the beauty of the home. Why go through all the trouble of renovating the Ransom Gillis House and then smother it with two nondescript buildings? Bad decision.
The fourth complaint I have deals with the buildings using up so much of the previous backyards. City Modern is trying to fit too many structures on the land. If the condos in the back weren't as big as the ones in the front, then maybe you could widen the alleys and make them narrow one-way streets with parking. I would not want to live in those "alley" condos because when I look out my front window I see an alley. If the alleys had room for parking and a sidewalk on one side, that would make it feel like a real street when I look out my front window.
My fifth and final complaint deals with the metal on some of the buildings facades. A building for commercial use can have metal for siding, not a residential development, especially in an historic neighborhood. The materials should be brick or wood. Man, to see what these metal/corrugated metal building are going to look like in twenty years, I don't want to know.
Well, that's it. Fire away.