Gratiot & Chene area - Next hot spot?

I am wondering if anyone has any information on this 'district'. It is neither part of Eastern Market, Poletown, nor MacDougall-Hunt... I'd call it "South Gratiot"... but there is a cluster of buildings around Gratiot and Chene that I'd say are underappreciated lately. It is very close to downtown, along a major thoroughfare, footsteps to Eastern Market, Dequindre Cut extension, and the historic commercial strip along Gratiot from Dubois to Joseph Campau is fairly intact and has some great period architecture on either side. Gratiot was widened around the same time as Woodward and Michigan, so there is some cool deco architecture on the south side, and some buildings on the north side that survived the widening and date from the late-1800s. Is this the next hot spot? Sure, the prairies of Poletown East are right there, but surely something is poised to happen with those plots soon ... There seems to be a lot of potential for this area.

Also, does anyone have any historic images of this area along Gratiot?

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Originally Posted by Gsgeorge

I am wondering if anyone has any information on this 'district'. It is neither part of Eastern Market, Poletown, nor MacDougall-Hunt... I'd call it "South Gratiot"... but there is a cluster of buildings around Gratiot and Chene that I'd say are underappreciated lately.

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By lately do you mean the last 50 years?

Not a trendy hot spot, no. You'll likely seeing infill development for low-income families but I wouldn't count on any hot gentrification going on, at least for several years.

That wedge between Vernor and Gratiot seems like an ideal location for expanding the Elmwood-type, condos and townhouses. Great proximity to downtown and, so far, still beyond the ring of raised rents.

I would buy-in there. This is not that far. Gratiot-St.Aubin is basically the front door of Eastern Market and LP. This is merely the next major cross-street, and there are a reasonable number of intact storefronts from St. A to Chene. Bank on it. You will see some upgrades here, and the empty lots fronting Gratiot should be prime for mid-rise new buildings once Gratiot becomes a smart road with a dedicated fast-bus lane. This is no further from downtown than the main strip of Corktown on Michigan Ave. is, plus you have Eastern Market and river access via Dqd. Cut so close by.

If you go back to 1 year before the bankruptcy and pull property records of sales and who the buyers were it should point you to where the next targeted investment area is.

For instance at that time and before the light rail project was announced Ann Arbor Spark principle friends were buying up Woodward properties.Spark was the Govs baby and the top guys went on to jobs with him.One could say at this point investing there at that time would have been a safe move.

There was a plan is place at that time and what the little guy or gal can do now is look for a tiny little window into that plan and use that to decide where the next "hot" spot will be.

It is 99% research and 1% actual purchase.

The new bridge and tunnel will be the new border and employment base residential will radiate out from those borders,Mr G bought residential where he did for a reason,do not look at a neighborhood,look at the big picture of where the city is going then it will point you to the right neighborhood.

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Originally Posted by animatedmartian

Not a trendy hot spot, no. You'll likely seeing infill development for low-income families but I wouldn't count on any hot gentrification going on, at least for several years.

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I think that the area could be as trendy as cork town's Michigan ave. The owners of those buildings that line Gratiot from Chene to McDougall of lying allow barber shops, Income Tax offices, and the occasional beauty shop. I don't know that the owners don't want to spend money on the build out of space which comes with reputable retail that would set up shop in the spaces. The whole area has great potential as I had stated a few years back on this site

While I do like the look of the corner and it feels like it could be prime for redevelopment, I'm not sure it will be a hot spot for tourist or suburbanites like Michigan Ave or Midtown. It will have to be an anchor for a neighborhood, like it was before. But look at the neighborhood surrounding it. It's not Midtown or Corktown. The hood north and east of Gratiot is all but gone. Dotted now with the few remaining homes, most of which are probably dilapidated and either abandoned waiting to be set ablaze or the stubborn homeowners who have been there 40-50 years. Then south of there you have the quasi-suburban apartment/condo monstrosity of Lafayette Park and Elmwood Park.

The enthusiasm is great, but this is going to be a bigger challenge than Corktown or Midtown because much more is lost.