LaSalle Gardens on the rise.

[ABetterDetroit]

House by house the area around LaSalle Park seems to be improving steadily as many of the vacant houses have been renovated and brought back into the people business even during the COVID year. Having the park cleaned up and repaired seems to have worked well as a smart cost effective investment by the city that has proven successful at sparking revitalization in the following years.

It will be interesting to see if the Motown Museum expansion will spur further growth along West Grand Blvd. I have always thought location wise that area has solid potential due to the proximity to New Center, Downtown and Henry Ford Hospital.

Thoughts?

[Seven&wyo]

I agree I think this chunk of Detroit is going to continue to see a lot of growth. I think the area between the Lodge, Grand River, Grand Blvd and Davison is going to see a lot good soon. Maybe not every portion of that area as some parts are pretty rough, but the area was built to be walkable with stores on Dexter, Wildemere, Linwood, Joy, Grand River, 12th and 14th. Couple that with outstanding one of kind architecture, I’ve been looking to buy there for a while and it’s been harder and harder to find places to buy and some people are putting some serious money into some of these homes

[mwilbert]

House by house the area around LaSalle Park seems to be improving steadily as many of the vacant houses have been renovated and brought back into the people business even during the COVID year. Having the park cleaned up and repaired seems to have worked well as a smart cost effective investment by the city that has proven successful at sparking revitalization in the following years.

LaSalle Gardens certainly has a number of things going for it: a pretty good location, some nice houses, and the park. It may well have other strengths I'm unaware of. But Detroit has a lot of neighborhoods with potential. Until a neighborhood reaches a certain level of redevelopment, it's hard to know which ones will get the love they need.

[Danny]

Show us the pictures.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Show us the pictures.

I’d love to see some of the recent renovations. I have seen some listings of renovated properties.

LaSalle Park is certainly looking quite nice according to google street view.

[Sehv313]

You're about 5 years late. Homes that were sold for $20k in 2015 on V.P. and LaSalle street have been recently remodeled and selling for $200k+ in the last 2 years. Paying that much for a home that still uses radiator heating is insane to me but some people love it.

[Zacha341]

^ Sometimes the radiator heating is swapped out for forced air.

I grew up with radiators in my parents home. It was a bit weird [[hissing, banging and clanging), but dryness and lack of humidity was not a problem. Funny once in a while radiators need to be drained [[not a good time) but a friend had hers done and her gas bill went down noticeably.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

^ Sometimes the radiator heating is swapped out for forced air.

I grew up with radiators in my parents home. It was a bit weird [[hissing, banging and clanging), but dryness and lack of humidity was not a problem. Funny once in a while radiators need to be drained [[not a good time) but a friend had hers done and her gas bill went down noticeably.

It’s also nice to not have dust blown around like forced air furnaces do. Certainly can complicate putting AC in but I know there are ways of doing it.

[old guy]

It’s also nice to not have dust blown around like forced air furnaces do. Certainly can complicate putting AC in but I know there are ways of doing it.

Sorry, I realize this is getting a bit off topic but, the house I live in has hot water, radiator style but with baseboard. Works great, it’s efficient and it is really clean. Did I mention quiet.
Now back to the main topic.

[ABetterDetroit]

Hot water radiant heat is also my preference in this climate. Clean, quiet and comfortable. I would not want to go back to the dust and dryness of forced air having lived in houses with both kinds of systems. But whatever one prefers, the list of pros and cons is lengthy and worthy of its own thread.

Zachra, the noisy radiators you are describing from your childhood sounds like steam radiator heat. Not the same as radiant hot water. Steam heat is a bit antiquated and requires more maintenance with a level of expertise that is harder to find these days.

Back on topic, the restorations/improvements that I have seen in and around LaSalle Gardens are not just limited to the mansions on LaSalle Blvd. They are spreading east and west in the area with some of the more reasonably sized homes. Frankly, that is what makes it more interesting to watch to see how far it might spread.

[K-slice]

Zachra, the noisy radiators you are describing from your childhood sounds like steam radiator heat. Not the same as radiant hot water. Steam heat is a bit antiquated and requires more maintenance with a level of expertise that is harder to find these days.

Back on topic, the restorations/improvements that I have seen in and around LaSalle Gardens are not just limited to the mansions on LaSalle Blvd. They are spreading east and west in the area with some of the more reasonably sized homes. Frankly, that is what makes it more interesting to watch to see how far it might spread.

How does steam require more maintenence? Most steam heat systems are 100 years old and still fully functional. Replace the small vents on the radiators even 5 years or so, drain the boiler once a season [[which takes maybe 5 mins), and a good boiler will last for decades. Maybe the neglect many old homes see has lead to this bad rap.

The area surrounded by 94, 96, 10, and Davidson has a lot of solid, and up and coming neighborhoods. Russell Woods, Boston Edison, LaSalle Gardens, Woodbridge... Between these neighborhoods though the decay is significant and ongoing.

The housing stock outside of these areas is, for the most part, not very attractive and significant infil/demolition/renovation will be needed to connect these nice neighborhood "islands".

[ABetterDetroit]

How does steam require more maintenence? Most steam heat systems are 100 years old and still fully functional. Replace the small vents on the radiators even 5 years or so, drain the boiler once a season [[which takes maybe 5 mins), and a good boiler will last for decades. Maybe the neglect many old homes see has lead to this bad rap.

The area surrounded by 94, 96, 10, and Davidson has a lot of solid, and up and coming neighborhoods. Russell Woods, Boston Edison, LaSalle Gardens, Woodbridge... Between these neighborhoods though the decay is significant and ongoing.

The housing stock outside of these areas is, for the most part, not very attractive and significant infil/demolition/renovation will be needed to connect these nice neighborhood "islands".

If and a big If at that, the new construction gap that perennially exist in Detroit could ever be closed that would be how to connect the “islands.” There are some well located empty or near empty blocks as well in the city and new construction infill is the only real answer. The gap absolutely needs to be closed in order for Detroit to experience the growth that is happening in other cities. Unfortunately in order to close that gap it would require a new direction in politics and we seem to be more entrenched politically like never before.

P.S. Steam has its charm for sure but age and neglect on so much of the housing stock in Detroit has taken a toll on all the heating systems. Your steam system sounds like you are right on top of it and when you do those things well they can work nice and be authentic to the house which is pretty cool.

[hybridy]

7661 La Salle Blvd was nicely done from photos. I don't love the kitchen or fireplace and the backyard is all concrete - but it is a beautiful home overall. The thought of winter heating bills scare me, but the exterior is phenomenal. I would definitely add the garage and inground pool if I were the buyer.

https://www.realliving.com/homes-for...8206-306960625

[Neilr]

7661 LaSalle Blvd. was designed by J. Ivan Dise. It was built for Lyford Moore in 1924. Here's pictures of a couple of his other designs. The first is on Chicago Blvd. just west of LaSalle. The other is on the corner of Akinson and Woodrow Wilson.





There are many pictures and lots of information about J. Ivan Dise and his work on p69rrh51's site Detroit's Wealth of Architecural Talent.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Tonight’s Rehab Addict Rescue episode happens to be in LaSalle Gardens.

[softailrider]

Most people are not going to want boilers and radiator heat. More comfortable in the winter but a definite detraction when it come to selling a house. For me it wouldn't absolutely be a deal killer, but it would be close.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

I found the Rehab Addict Rescue house; its actually very close to the grand house at 7661 LaSalle shown above. The Rehab house is just a bit down S. LaSalle Gardens.

I’ve been watching all of Nicole’s shows and I found each house from the drone shots except one. For those of you watching, I couldn’t figure out where grandma’s duplex was.

[LongGone06]

I found the Rehab Addict Rescue house; its actually very close to the grand house at 7661 LaSalle shown above. The Rehab house is just a bit down S. LaSalle Gardens.

I’ve been watching all of Nicole’s shows and I found each house from the drone shots except one. For those of you watching, I couldn’t figure out where grandma’s duplex was.

Was that the musician? I thought that house was somewhere near the Catholic Seminary on Chicago.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

Was that the musician? I thought that house was somewhere near the Catholic Seminary on Chicago.

Yes, that guy. I found all of the other houses so far on street view but there was no landmark that I recall in that episode. And I don’t think she named the neighborhood.

[Sehv313]

^ Sometimes the radiator heating is swapped out for forced air.

I grew up with radiators in my parents home. It was a bit weird [[hissing, banging and clanging), but dryness and lack of humidity was not a problem. Funny once in a while radiators need to be drained [[not a good time) but a friend had hers done and her gas bill went down noticeably.

Switching from Radiators to Forced air is around $8,000 at the very least. One of my homes has radiators now and I will tell you that radiators are definitely a sellers nightmare.

[Sehv313]

It’s also nice to not have dust blown around like forced air furnaces do. Certainly can complicate putting AC in but I know there are ways of doing it.

I'd rather have dust blown around than having to dust every single weekend due to constant dust pile up. I'm sorry but from experience, Forced air is a must have from now on. No more destruction of historical oak floors, no black mold repairs from leaky boiler pipes. No wall splatter marks from bleeding radiator steam valves. And although radiators get hotter, furnace repairs are at least 4 times cheaper than boiler repairs, trust me.

[bust]

Another vote for baseboard heat.

[old guy]

Really getting off topic but there are extremely great radiator type systems available these days that are incredibly clean.
I live in an old nine room farmhouse that about 35 years ago was retrofitted with a forced hot water system that has baseboards and is extremely clean, efficient and quiet.
It doesn’t require a boiler, it has a furnace that’s approximately 3 ft. Tall x 2ft. X 3ft. The pump is about the size of an alternator. It’s quiet and heats the house efficiently and I think at a reasonable cost.
I realize the old radiator, boiler systems would be a tough sell. This is quite different.

[royce]

I found the Rehab Addict Rescue house; its actually very close to the grand house at 7661 LaSalle shown above. The Rehab house is just a bit down S. LaSalle Gardens.

I’ve been watching all of Nicole’s shows and I found each house from the drone shots except one. For those of you watching, I couldn’t figure out where grandma’s duplex was.

In one shot they were talking to the family outside and in the background it appeared to be a guard rail for the Lodge Freeway. The guard rail was to the east of where they were standing. After a Google Earth search, I found it. It's 1153 Pingree Street.

[royce]

Not sure what the borderlines for LaSalle Gardens are, but there is a really nice group of apartments on Seward Street between the Lodge and Merrill Street. Two are on that section and another one is on Seward west of Merrill. Also, there is this really nice townhouse complex on Merrill between Seward and Virginia Park streets. Looks like someone like them so much that on the opposite side of Merrill there are some more, more modern looking, townhouses that were built. All of this just two blocks north of the Henry Ford Hospital complex. Haven't been behind the hospital touring that area in awhile. Thx Google Earth.