Rebuilding Detroit One House at a Time

We now have a third publicized home in this genre. Amy Haimerl wrote the excellent Detroit Hustle book about her struggles to restore to glory a Georgian Revival home in West Village. Stephen Henderson of the FREEP is promoting the restoration and reuse of his childhood home on Tuxedo near Livernois as a literary center. Recently, Drew Philp published A $500 House in Detroit describing his successful efforts to restore a Queen Anne home. I infer it is located adjoining Poletown area near Farnsworth between Moran and Mount Elliott where Paul Weertz created his well-known urban farm. Does anyone have a picture of Philp’s accomplishment or know more about its location? I understand his reasons for not listing an address.

Each of these writers suggests that there are positive developments and other investors in the neighborhoods where they put their efforts into the “one house at a time” strategy.

I read both of these books recently. Philp calls the street where Paul Weertz lives "Forestdale", but it's obvious he's referring to Farnsworth. Is Forestdale a term invented by the people who live in Weertz's block? Or was it invented by Philp for his book?

Check your private messages about Philp's house.