Woodward corridor near royal oak/birmingham

[boater4life]

How has this area been since the recent recession? Seems like times are tough but I was taking a ride along Woodward near 13 and 14 mile road and it seems like this area has seen better days. Even saw some of those shops with bars over the windows. Just wondering how crime has been around here and if anyone has seen the area go downhill at all in recent years.

[rjlj]

Ha!! WTF are you talking about?

How has this area been since the recent recession? Seems like times are tough but I was taking a ride along Woodward near 13 and 14 mile road and it seems like this area has seen better days. Even saw some of those shops with bars over the windows. Just wondering how crime has been around here and if anyone has seen the area go downhill at all in recent years.

[animatedmartian]

Pretty sure there's no store front along that stretch of Woodward with bars over the front.

[Dumpling]

Was just at the little strip mall at the corner of 13 Mile and Woodward today. Yes,
it has seen better days. It used to be fully occupied with a store I remember as
JCPenney's anchoring it. Parking used to be a bear. Now it is easy to find a spot.
It's not in a death spiral yet and its parking lot is full for one weekend in August
at least. I think as far as shopping it has been superceded by the new shopping
area somewhat to the north and east that is right by the new Birmingham train
station.

[Kathleen]

For a number of years, Beaumont Hospital has had plans to convert/tear down Northwood Center for medical facilities of some sort. With that in mind, some businesses have closed when their contract was up for renewal. And while this project has been stretched out for many years due to the economic downturn of 2008-2009, new businesses won't take the chance of opening there. Hope something happens one way or another there soon!!

[Honky Tonk]

For a number of years, Beaumont Hospital has had plans to convert/tear down Northwood Center for medical facilities of some sort. With that in mind, some businesses have closed when their contract was up for renewal. And while this project has been stretched out for many years due to the economic downturn of 2008-2009, new businesses won't take the chance of opening there. Hope something happens one way or another there soon!!

I'm not a big shopper, and never have been. When I actually need something, the first place I go to is the Internet. The 45 minutes I waste there, allows me to look @ multiple products within my parameters, and choose one that best suites my needs. Wasting the same 45 minutes using my car, gets me to one store, which may, or may not, have what I'm looking for. I think a lot of brick and mortar type shopping demise undoubtedly has to do with Internet development.

[MizMotown]

happy, happy, joy, joy for Detroit being able to declare bankruptcy and basically get a do-over but what about the surrounding cities that don't have the money, are not declaring bankruptcy and are slowly but surely going to shit?

[Bham1982]

I'm not a big shopper, and never have been. When I actually need something, the first place I go to is the Internet. The 45 minutes I waste there, allows me to look @ multiple products within my parameters, and choose one that best suites my needs. Wasting the same 45 minutes using my car, gets me to one store, which may, or may not, have what I'm looking for. I think a lot of brick and mortar type shopping demise undoubtedly has to do with Internet development.

What does any of this have to do with Beaumont expansion??

[Kathleen]

I'm not a big shopper, and never have been. When I actually need something, the first place I go to is the Internet. The 45 minutes I waste there, allows me to look @ multiple products within my parameters, and choose one that best suites my needs. Wasting the same 45 minutes using my car, gets me to one store, which may, or may not, have what I'm looking for. I think a lot of brick and mortar type shopping demise undoubtedly has to do with Internet development.

I have lived a 10-minute walk from Northwood Shopping Center for some 20 years, so have shopped at stores in this locale and up and down Woodward Avenue often. I already miss the demise of the McDevitt's Hallmark that was a staple there for so many years.

I prefer to shop local businesses rather than Internet sites. When I go out shopping, it is always for a variety of items, usually at more than one stop, using a route that makes the most of my time without going out of my way.

[Bham1982]

There is no store with "bars over the windows" along that corridor.

Woodward in Northern Royal Oak is probably healthier now that at any time in recent history.

[Zacha341]

That was what I was thinking. I am up and down that corridor alot as I have favorite restaurants and Trader Joes etc. I go to. Sure it is not tip top economically speaking but no bars on windows. Nope.

There is no store with "bars over the windows" along that corridor.

Woodward in Northern Royal Oak is probably healthier now that at any time in recent history.

[nain rouge]

I don't know if this translates to better retail, as Woodward is more of a regional destination than a local one, but I can think of a hell of a lot more "stuff", both good and bad, in the two miles north of the freeway than south, which makes sense as traffic drops off south of 696.

Yes, the neighborhoods north of 696 are all varying levels of nice [[until Pontiac). That's why it's puzzling why that stretch of Woodward is such a boring, uninspiring road. It's the region's main thoroughfare, but aside from Vinsetta Garage, I can't think of a reason I'd call it a "regional destination". Unless, of course, you're counting Old Woodward or Cranbrook.

It always surprises me that not ONE classic drive-in restaurant survived. Shoot, a place like that'd do enough business during the Dream Cruise to pay for several months of business costs. You'd think there'd be a real flagship Coney Island, too, like the one on Gratiot near 696.

At least south of 696 there are interesting stores and restaurants on Woodward. If anything, the stark contrast shows you just what sort of cultural output you can expect from modern suburban sprawl.

[dtowncitylover]

can't think of a reason I'd call it a "regional destination". Unless, of course, you're counting Old Woodward or Cranbrook.

There are some things: The Zoo, The Shrine, downtown Ferndale and Birmingham, Dream Cruise, Beaumont, Cranbrook.

It's boring and uninspiring because it is a commuter/errand road. I like the tribute monuments that line it though...

[Towne Cluber]

Yes, the neighborhoods north of 696 are all varying levels of nice [[until Pontiac). That's why it's puzzling why that stretch of Woodward is such a boring, uninspiring road. It's the region's main thoroughfare, but aside from Vinsetta Garage, I can't think of a reason I'd call it a "regional destination". Unless, of course, you're counting Old Woodward or Cranbrook.

It always surprises me that not ONE classic drive-in restaurant survived. Shoot, a place like that'd do enough business during the Dream Cruise to pay for several months of business costs. You'd think there'd be a real flagship Coney Island, too, like the one on Gratiot near 696.

At least south of 696 there are interesting stores and restaurants on Woodward. If anything, the stark contrast shows you just what sort of cultural output you can expect from modern suburban sprawl.

Interesting restaurants North of 696 on Woodward: Athens [[Real flagship coney island), Hunter House, Redcoat Tavern, Moose Preserve, Duggan's Irish Pub, Blarney Stone Pub, The Stand

Stores: Woodward Camera, Moosejaw, Arizona Saddlery, Joe's Army-Navy

4 Higher-end groceries: Westborn, Papa Joe's, Kroger [[Birmingham), and Trader Joes

5 Ice Cream stands/parlors: Dairy Mat, Dairy Deluxe, Custard & Co, Oberweis, Bloomberry

A Porsche/Audi/Range Rover Dealership [[definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but certainly not something that would drop property values)

[Thruster315]

5 Ice Cream stands/parlors: Dairy Mat, Dairy Deluxe, Custard & Co, Oberweis, Bloomberry

Oberweis- one of my favorite summer places to get ice cream.

It was also the site from where a friend of mine once texted me. Instead of letting me know "I'm at Oberweis" her smart phone auto correct spewed out "I'm at Overweight". Miraculously I knew where she was though.

[nain rouge]

Only Ferndale with its traffic cop statue kinda gets it.

[Soccerguy48025]

I am concerned about the 13 Mile & Woodward vicinity, and feel that it has seen much better days. It was recently brought to my attention that the church at Normandy & Woodward is running a homeless shelter out of there on a regular basis. One of the homeless panhandlers singled me out and bothered me so badly at the Potbelly that I landed up having to call the police to report it. Also, many of the old junky apartments on 13 Mile Rd around Greenfield/Woodward/Coolidge area are now section 8 accommodations. Also, it appears that Beaumont isn't going to be doing much of anything with the dumpy Northwood Shopping Center anytime soon. The nearby City of Southfield is in decline and will only get worse. I live in the 14 Mile & Greenfield vicinity and we are having problems over here with the rif raf coming in and casing the neighborhood on a regular basis. There are some nice new houses being built around here, but the majority of the housing stock is becoming quite dated and irrelevant for today's standards. I too enjoy the energy and nostalgia of Woodward Ave in the summer, but would like to see better business installations other than just a new subway or burger king. The roads around here aren't the greatest, they're not bad but they're not good either. I have not reached the point of worrying, but I am becoming very concerned! We will see what the future brings?????

[Mind field]

I am concerned about the 13 Mile & Woodward vicinity, and feel that it has seen much better days. It was recently brought to my attention that the church at Normandy & Woodward is running a homeless shelter out of there on a regular basis. One of the homeless panhandlers singled me out and bothered me so badly at the Potbelly that I landed up having to call the police to report it. Also, many of the old junky apartments on 13 Mile Rd around Greenfield/Woodward/Coolidge area are now section 8 accommodations. Also, it appears that Beaumont isn't going to be doing much of anything with the dumpy Northwood Shopping Center anytime soon. The nearby City of Southfield is in decline and will only get worse. I live in the 14 Mile & Greenfield vicinity and we are having problems over here with the rif raf coming in and casing the neighborhood on a regular basis. There are some nice new houses being built around here, but the majority of the housing stock is becoming quite dated and irrelevant for today's standards. I too enjoy the energy and nostalgia of Woodward Ave in the summer, but would like to see better business installations other than just a new subway or burger king. The roads around here aren't the greatest, they're not bad but they're not good either. I have not reached the point of worrying, but I am becoming very concerned! We will see what the future brings?????

I hear downtown Detroit is becoming more affluent and educated. Might consider a move down there.

[mtburb]

I am concerned about the 13 Mile & Woodward vicinity, and feel that it has seen much better days. It was recently brought to my attention that the church at Normandy & Woodward is running a homeless shelter out of there on a regular basis. One of the homeless panhandlers singled me out and bothered me so badly at the Potbelly that I landed up having to call the police to report it. Also, many of the old junky apartments on 13 Mile Rd around Greenfield/Woodward/Coolidge area are now section 8 accommodations. Also, it appears that Beaumont isn't going to be doing much of anything with the dumpy Northwood Shopping Center anytime soon. The nearby City of Southfield is in decline and will only get worse. I live in the 14 Mile & Greenfield vicinity and we are having problems over here with the rif raf coming in and casing the neighborhood on a regular basis. There are some nice new houses being built around here, but the majority of the housing stock is becoming quite dated and irrelevant for today's standards. I too enjoy the energy and nostalgia of Woodward Ave in the summer, but would like to see better business installations other than just a new subway or burger king. The roads around here aren't the greatest, they're not bad but they're not good either. I have not reached the point of worrying, but I am becoming very concerned! We will see what the future brings?????

You are not alone-the city of Lincoln Park is in decline and the ghettoification is already starting to spread big time south into Southgate and Wyandotte and I'll give about ten years before Trenton also enters a major decline. It appears that the Fort Street corridor through that area-which is like Woodward around 13 Mile, but with mostly just single-story commercial-has too seen better days.

[Detroitnerd]

You are not alone-the city of Lincoln Park is in decline and the ghettoification is already starting to spread big time south into Southgate and Wyandotte and I'll give about ten years before Trenton also enters a major decline. It appears that the Fort Street corridor through that area-which is like Woodward around 13 Mile, but with mostly just single-story commercial-has too seen better days.

Lincoln Park is at least fortunate to have spillover from Detroit's Mexican-American community, which is growing and knows what to do with sleepy old strips.

What's called "ghettoification" is really just capital leaving an area. As the people with means and money leave, poorer residents find it more affordable to stake their claim and move in. It has just been accelerated by the foreclosure problem, which hit Lincoln Park especially hard, as well as the offshoring of so much the production work, which took many of the jobs people Downriver used to have. Retirement and moving away are factors as well, as so many of those blue-collar folks were already older. Then there's all the people who've just given up on this region and moved south and west.

But, as with all areas of metro Detroit, the common problem is lack of coherent development policy. As long as developers are in the driver's seat in this region, they'll just keep building ticky-tacky houses on the periphery and making bank while neighborhoods trapped between the hipper spots in Detroit and the exurbs experience capital flight.

Don't let's make the mistake of thinking that it's the poor people moving in who are the problem. Our key regional decision-makers are happy to go on making a pretty penny off our metro Detroit housing version of musical chairs, and to keep offering you a 2,000-square-foot house beyond this year's version of "Eight Mile" as the solution.

[ghettopalmetto]

I am concerned about the 13 Mile & Woodward vicinity, and feel that it has seen much better days. It was recently brought to my attention that the church at Normandy & Woodward is running a homeless shelter out of there on a regular basis. One of the homeless panhandlers singled me out and bothered me so badly at the Potbelly that I landed up having to call the police to report it. Also, many of the old junky apartments on 13 Mile Rd around Greenfield/Woodward/Coolidge area are now section 8 accommodations. Also, it appears that Beaumont isn't going to be doing much of anything with the dumpy Northwood Shopping Center anytime soon. The nearby City of Southfield is in decline and will only get worse. I live in the 14 Mile & Greenfield vicinity and we are having problems over here with the rif raf coming in and casing the neighborhood on a regular basis.

A homeless shelter? A panhandler? You don't say! Better move to 42 Mile Road before more of those dang stinking Poors show up! I mean, you wouldn't want one of them looking at you funny or walking through, er, casing your neighborhood.

[softailrider]

I am concerned about the 13 Mile & Woodward vicinity, and feel that it has seen much better days. It was recently brought to my attention that the church at Normandy & Woodward is running a homeless shelter out of there on a regular basis. One of the homeless panhandlers singled me out and bothered me so badly at the Potbelly that I landed up having to call the police to report it. Also, many of the old junky apartments on 13 Mile Rd around Greenfield/Woodward/Coolidge area are now section 8 accommodations. Also, it appears that Beaumont isn't going to be doing much of anything with the dumpy Northwood Shopping Center anytime soon. The nearby City of Southfield is in decline and will only get worse. I live in the 14 Mile & Greenfield vicinity and we are having problems over here with the rif raf coming in and casing the neighborhood on a regular basis. There are some nice new houses being built around here, but the majority of the housing stock is becoming quite dated and irrelevant for today's standards. I too enjoy the energy and nostalgia of Woodward Ave in the summer, but would like to see better business installations other than just a new subway or burger king. The roads around here aren't the greatest, they're not bad but they're not good either. I have not reached the point of worrying, but I am becoming very concerned! We will see what the future brings?????

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. I've been living in the area since 1969. Seems pretty much the same to me.

[canuck]

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. I've been living in the area since 1969. Seems pretty much the same to me.

Funniest post of 2015 so far. You stuck a short needle in that there balloon .

[DTWflyer]

This is a rediculous thread.....
Only on Detroityes to we get threads about "Is Grosse Pointe becoming ghetto?" "Is Birmingham in decline?" "Is Royal Oak in decline?"....seriously???

I live right off this section of Woodward for the better part of the past decade and there really has been no significant change.

Woodward Ave through Royal Oak is that, Woodward Ave. Its a hodge-podge of commerical properties dating in age and vintage from the 1950s-2010s. They range in size and scale from small to large, renovated & modern to dated. It is still one of the major commerical corridors in the region and thus has the types of businesses you would expect to find on a major throughfare.

The shopping center at 13 & Woodward has been in decline for the past several years, in part due to the lack of investment by the owner - Beaumont. As said, for several years Beaumont has been proposing tearing down the shopping center and using the land for expansion of the medical complex. Thus tenants have pulled-out with the uncertain future. Plus, Beaumont has made zero investment in the complex so it looks dated and shoddy. The Kroger there, while always busy is almost one of the most dated and small Kroger stores in the region. They have much smaller selection than the Kroger in Troy or Birmingham. Honestly, I wish they would keep the shopping center and update and try to actually attact new tenants because its convenient. The former Rite Aid was converted into a day care center. The Secretary of State is gone now that they've consolidated into regional super-center. Four-Greenfields bar/tavern is gone. The major tenants - Office Depot, Dunhams, Party City, and Kroger remain.

Chrysler pullled their franchise from Village Automotive a few years ago, a very odd dealership with a parking garage but that now seems to be doing ok as a used car dealer.

Red Coat, Duggans, Pasqualles are always extremely busy.

Actually there has been more new stuff that has gone into this strip in the past year than in the past several.
A new Starbucks with a drive-through was just built south of 13 Mile, replacing an old auto repair garage.
Burger King just rebuilt and modernized their store there.
A new Subway and a Moe's [[the first one I've seen in the state) just opened on the stretch.

I'm actually more impressed with the stretch of Woodward in Birmingham from Maple down past Lincoln as there seems be continual redevelopment in this stretch. Birmingham has stronger zoning and a signage ordinance that keeps their strip looking less hodge-podge.

Outside of that, the residential areas along the corridor are still very desirable. This area of North Royal Oak is one of the higher value areas in the city.

Yes, I've heard of a few crime stories in the area - a buddy was held-up for his wallet outside a bar, the bartender at Duggans was robbed while closing down a few years ago, the weird drifters who were murdered some elderly residents a few years ago. I mean, you hear stories about random robberies and such in every community.

I actually think the Woodward corridor from Ferndale up through Birmingham actually as a lot of potential in the future. Particularly as more business moves back into the City of Detroit, this area continues to become more desirable. There are more tear-downs & reconstructions in Royal Oak than they've ever had and in neighborhoods well away from the downtown area too.

[mtburb]

a Moe's [[the first one I've seen in the state) just opened on the stretch.

Actually, there used to be a Moe's on Eureka near Dix-Toledo Highway in Southgate in what was once a Pizza Hut. That one is now an independent restaurant.