Detroit and Cass Corridor Legend Joel Landy Passes

[Lowell]

One hardly knows where to begin with Joel, one of the most colorful, crusty and brilliant characters who I have been honored to have as a friend. I called him the hippy real estate tycoon. Joel was no suburban absentee landlord investor having lived in his rambling 19th C mansion house on Charlotte since the 1970’s. From there would he slowly accumulated ownership of properties on the two blocks bounded by Cass, Woodward and Peterboro, where he own around 90% of them, as well as others beyond.

Scott Mansion Autumn 2009


Scott Mansion Summer 2019


Everybody thought he was nuts for even living in that drug-infested, crime-ridden jungle, let alone acquiring those decrepit properties but, with a foreign car repair service as a shaky cash source, he somehow managed to hold onto the properties, scratch out loans, pay the taxes, hold off the inspectors and hone his developer skills. Acquisitions of some of his holdings, such as one on the Veteran’s Hospital site and elsewhere, provided him some cash bonanzas, that allowed him to break through starting with the development of the Addison Building at Charlotte and Woodward.

From there he became a juggernaut developing the former Thomas Jefferson school at Selden and Lodge, a property he obtained for a dollar, and eventually gained a multi-million dollar long-term lease as a charter school. He restored and developed all the properties he owned on his two blocks, most famously the Scott Mansion—that nobody ever thought possible. [Scott Mansion Restoration Thread Here]

I can’t keep track of his scattered real estate empire, nor the order in which he developed them, but I do know that he remained the same hard working, hands-on, down-to-earth guy he always was. When I last shook his hand, it was still the same rough calloused hand I had always shaken, on the same wiry body cloaked in dusty worn Carhart denim jacket, topped with an exploding curly mop of hair [he could have been mistaken for Bob Dylan] and the same acidic-humor and no-nonsense practicality.


He had grown rich, but you would never know it, and was enthusiastic about his latest passion, the collection of vintage autos that had grown to over fifty with many stunning pieces. He had begun winding down his real estate efforts and was recovering from one of the many ailments he was plagued with throughout his life. When he was hospitalized this time, we all thought, ‘Here we go again, but we know he’ll pull through like he always has’. This time was a bridge too far.

Farewell Joel and thank for saving so many Detroit historical structures.