Two Major Woodward Apartments Abandoned...

[Ray1936]

One of the things I've done since moving to Nevada 25 years ago is to explore the many ghost towns out in the desert. Some may still have a handful of residents, but most saw their last human move out decades ago. These were mining towns where rich gold strikes brought thousands of residents. When the ore ran out, so did the people.

Detroit's ore has run out. It's joining the ghost town ranks.

[casscorridor]

Highland Park Towers: A very beautiful building, I think it can be saved. It should be preserved at least until the Glendale Ave Station opens [[within 5 years). There will then be interest in developing it for sure.

Seward buildings: I dont agree at all with the sentiment that the Wellington should just be torn down, that somehow it will help the neighborhood. It is also not "too big". Was the Park Shelton too big to be next to single family homes on E Ferry... NO!! Mixed building sizes and uses are what make the best Detroit neighborhoods so great: you can stay within the same neighborhood and live in a high rise, townhouse, duplex, four-flat, single family, appartment, condo and more. This is not possible in other cities. I think this is something that needs to be built on in Detroit. We dont focus on our strengths enough, too much on weaknesses.

[buildingsofdetroit]

Regarding the somewhat recently abandoned apartments on Seward the victims are the Wellington Place at 59:


and the Bonita, next door to the west.

Wow. It didn't take long for the Seward to go to hell. I used to live on Virginia Park about three years ago. It was still in use then. Not fancy, but at least it wasn't abandoned and stripped. Sheesh.

Here's an old postcard of the Seward from the BoD.com archives:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...g?t=1258405177

My extra is for sale up at City Bird's store in Midtown for $3.50 if anyone wants one of their own.

[trotwood]

Regarding 'spreading to Palmer Park'... If you don't count the two on McNichols [17110 Third and the Delmar] that have been abandoned for several years there are only two other vacant apartments in Palmer Park that I know of: 750 Whitmore and this beauty, Merton Manor.

That's such a sad thing to see. I lived at 369 Merton [[Merton Manor) 20 years ago. It was a lovely well kept building. I was driving down McNichols a month or two and went to show a friend my first apartment[[Merton) and could've cried when I saw what was left of the place. When I lived there it was a relatively nice neighborhood. There were two neighborhood markets[[Fiesta&Caeser's),Caeser's Video,a nightclub/restaurant[[The Pavillon) just behind MM and a Little Caesers pizzaria a block away. There was this great chinese restaruant called Kow Kow's. They're all gone now,though I think Caeser's market may still be there. The apartment building across the street from Dean's Party Store is boarded up & lifeless too. It's all so sad.

[Fury13]

One of the things I've done since moving to Nevada 25 years ago is to explore the many ghost towns out in the desert. Some may still have a handful of residents, but most saw their last human move out decades ago. These were mining towns where rich gold strikes brought thousands of residents. When the ore ran out, so did the people.

Detroit's ore has run out. It's joining the ghost town ranks.

You may be right, Ray.

By the way, I used to live in Silver City, Nevada, so I know what you're talking about there.

[tallboy66]

Is the record store abandoned? And what about the health food store at the corner of the building? I never went to either but I always thought more of that would do the city good, get people walking being neighborly on the street again

[softailrider]

Huh? No, this is the result of the landlord going bankrupt and not keeping up with his bills. I don't see how you can blame it on the tenants.

If the tenants would have paid their rent the situation probablly would be different.

[esteban]

Thief removing schoolyard equipment in broad daylight

It's most disheartening. Just down the street and to the left on John R is the Barber School playground. To my delight, some years ago the Tabernacle Church put a major effort into building a completely new playscape and initially I enthusiastically took my young son there to play.
Unfortunately, the school did not turn on its security lights at night, nor did it appear to take any interest in the playscape upkeep. By rapid degrees, the playground declined until there was no point in taking young children there.

[rjlj]

Without security guards at these two places, I can guarantee that people have already been inside these places looking for scrap. First the wiring disappears, then the plumbing and finally the nice roof. Just removing the wiring is enough to deter anyone from taking over the building. And voila, the perfect Detroit blight recipe. I give these places about 3 more months.

[RickBeall]

The Highland Towers looks huge. It looks like the size of a city block almost.

[softailrider]

Without security guards at these two places, I can guarantee that people have already been inside these places looking for scrap. First the wiring disappears, then the plumbing and finally the nice roof. Just removing the wiring is enough to deter anyone from taking over the building. And voila, the perfect Detroit blight recipe. I give these places about 3 more months.

Security guards? 24/7? You're dreaming, even Illich wouldn't do that. If they cement blocked up all the windows on the first and second floor that MIGHT deter the scrappers for a while.

[Zacha341]

Yes, I know the building, it was looking to be rehabbed, then that stopped for some reason... problem is once these buildings go south, it is hard to recover them. The tenant quality goes down and no students or working stiffs is going to subject themselves to the nightly brawls, scowls, never-ending music, dope transactions, apartment-to-apartment theft, car theft, domestic quarells etc. ETC that becomes the fabric of such a dwelling.

At that point it just becomes a building of transients, or the desperate who may choose or be able to pay rent a couple of times then squat... bad scene. A decent landlord would opt to sell if possible, then in comes the slumlord, collecting any remaining funds asap, with no long term goals of true rehab, no utilities paid, lights out! People leave. Windows and doors opened. Building stripped and burned.

There's a huge apartment on Clairmont just west of Woodward [[ around the 100 block ) that went vacant about two months ago, it was always a going concern, then it had a small fire on one of the upper floors [[ wasn't that buildings first fire either ) I went by there and the place had gone totally wild: doors and windows wide open, people hanging around outside drinking, people just walking in and out. Then the place got boarded up, haven't been by there lately, building is probablly stripped and dead by now.

[Zacha341]

It is very big and will make a huge eye sore if not rescued...

The Highland Towers looks huge. It looks like the size of a city block almost.

[Zacha341]

Wow... I wonder when the "Day Badge" company gave up [[maybe 1995 or so). Towards the end it was not the safest environment to get out of your car... yet all of this could be turned around...

Read'em and weep friends. The Moorish-influenced Highland Towers has this fabulous front entrance featuring an art deco-style stain glass window.


This splendid structure absolutely dominates this stretch of Woodward. In spite of his size, I would think its chance for survival are better than average. It features underground parking, entered from the rear alley and has an inset lane on Woodward allowing for pull in parking. The neighborhood behind it is National Register of Historic Homes District and is one of the few surviving middle class and semi-solid areas of Highland Park.



The Highland Towers was part of my landscape from my Colorado St. house one block away. These pictures were from May 2007 when it seemed on a bit of a rebound, new windows etc. and few visible vacancies. [BTW A Day Badge was in the apartment to the north, The Farrand Apartments aka 11 Farrand Park.]

[Zacha341]

Sadly, both of these buildings became mega DOPE high rises havens of crime and mega drama with people paying rent maybe once of twice then squatting. As a landlord, I hear you get half of your peeps not paying rent and laying up knowing the courts take 3 to 6 months to roll out the "evict" notices, spending all you time filing evictions... no moneys coming in... well the end comes fast..... Down on the other end of Seward [[the other side of the Lodge) behind Henry Ford Hospital are thriving buildings with good tenants paying rent.

Regarding the somewhat recently abandoned apartments on Seward the victims are the Wellington Place at 59:


and the Bonita, next door to the west.

[Zacha341]

At some point it become a problem of the landlord and the tenants as a vicious cycle. The non-paying squatter types that go from apartment to apartment, end up concentrated in the run down buildings who will take them as they CANNOT BE PICKY... due to the environment in which more consistently paying clientele will NOT rent.

Thus, these building become know for renting to tenants who maybe unemployed or simply not motivated to pay rent regularly. These renters may be able to or choose to pay rent maybe once or twice. And the eviction process and paperwork downtown is backlogged due to the number of people who don't, wont or cant pay rent consistently. And some of the chronic no pay tenants know "system", knowing they can squat for 6 months before the courts finally throw their stuff to the streets.

Or some are section 8 buildings in which the government pays a portion of the rent, yet if tenants don't pay the bills, that could be a cumulative cash flow problem.

Perhaps the original owner will do a quick sale to the fastest slum lord out to make a fast, if temporary buck ala the temporary paying renters and or the section 8 gov cash flow. But the rub is utility companies who are not extending unpaid gas and electric services as they once did. Lights out! Furnace off. Then even the squatters leave. Now what decent renter is going to live amidst all of this?

If the tenants would have paid their rent the situation probablly would be different.

[Zacha341]

The eight or so apartments south of Woodward beyond those two high rise recently abandoned dope buildings that are doing ok. Heading toward, near and on the other side of the Lodge behind Henry Ford Hospital those buildings are doing ok, if not perfect. Some of them have very strident screening processes. If your credit is bad you cannot get into some of them. There is no loitering around the buildings allowed either....

Wow. It didn't take long for the Seward to go to hell. I used to live on Virginia Park about three years ago. It was still in use then. Not fancy, but at least it wasn't abandoned and stripped. Sheesh.

Here's an old postcard of the Seward from the BoD.com archives:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...g?t=1258405177

My extra is for sale up at City Bird's store in Midtown for $3.50 if anyone wants one of their own.

[Zacha341]

Yeah, location and tenancy makes a difference. In a different life I used to live in apartments and would not want to spend the night in some of these buildings when they turn the fatal corner and start to resemble something like a city of horrors and angst within the city [[ala The Carter Apt. In "New Jack City")!

Once the area and tenant quality goes too far down no retired or working stiffs are going to subject themselves to the nightly brawls, scowls, never ending music, drug transactions and consumption, apartment-to-apartment thefts, car theft, domestic and other dramas that becomes the fabric of such a dwelling.

I would hate to see Highland Towers trashed. That kind of architectural detail is irreplaceable.

The location is so bad, though... I doubt the place will survive.

[rbdetsport]

The Highland Towers I believe used to be a hospital. My father was born there in 1958.

[Jman]

The Highland Towers I believe used to be a hospital. My father was born there in 1958.

Nope, I grew up there [[Highland Park) and Highland Towers was always an apartment building. 3 blocks away on Highland and Third St. was Detroit Osteopathic Hospital or 5 blocks away on Glendale and John Lodge was the Highland Park Hospital.

[detroitbob]

I dated someone who lived in the Highland Towers back in the 70's and it was a wonderful building full of "mature" tenants who had been there for years. My friend got the apartment because a family friend was retiring from the library and moving after 35 years. Some of the apartments features included cork floor tiles, step down living rooms [[aka sunken) and bathrooms with huge soaking tubs like those in the Park Shelton. Reminded me of several of the old rental buildings on Lake Shore in Chicago. I doubt it will survive. I imagine it was not part of any historic district. It is a monumental presence on that stretch of Woodward. Sad.

[Zacha341]

Wow sunken floors! Huge soaking tubs... incredible. If only this building was closer to WSU/ downton it might have a chance, but it would be hard to attract solid paying tenants per that neighborhood. So what would be the motivation to rehab it. Very little.

The Park Shelton is doing well, now turned into condos? Right? When it was apartment only the rents were sky high and background checks very stiff.... I hear.

[Fury13]

The building's only hope would be for some optimistic developer to grab it quick, rehab it, and condo it... turn it into almost a "gated" type place with security 24/7 for tenants.

Obviously, in the current economic climate, that's not going to happen, especially in HP.

[tallboy66]

The building's only hope would be for some optimistic developer to grab it quick, rehab it, and condo it... turn it into almost a "gated" type place with security 24/7 for tenants.

Obviously, in the current economic climate, that's not going to happen, especially in HP.

Or even closer to the University/Cultural area it didn't work. 2 bldgs. just north of Palmer @ Woodward one was renovated and turned into condos, 2002 or so, by 2007 [[my last trip to Detroit) still no occupants and the windows were starting to be broken.

Fate of Highland towers is sealed just like every other abandon bldg. in the city. Looted for anything valuable, vandalized, a few homeless move in, then it burns.

[softailrider]

Or even closer to the University/Cultural area it didn't work. 2 bldgs. just north of Palmer @ Woodward one was renovated and turned into condos, 2002 or so, by 2007 [[my last trip to Detroit) still no occupants and the windows were starting to be broken.

Fate of Highland towers is sealed just like every other abandon bldg. in the city. Looted for anything valuable, vandalized, a few homeless move in, then it burns.

Unfortunately, I think you're right. That's probablly what is going to happen. It isn't like that in other big cities, I don't know why or what the answer is to stop the carnage of these beautiful buildings.

I think we've lost about 50% or more of the apartment buildings in the city in the last 30 years. Then I see some smaller 8 or 12 unit buildings in various parts of the city that still seem to be doing fine. Maybe the owners live there 24 / 7. Or, they have really good live in managers. They're obviously doing something right.