Detroit featured on HGTV last night

[detroitdoc]

Indian Village is on the East side along Jefferson Avenue, near the old Roostertail. Yes, the homes are very big, like Palmer Woods with big lawns but less English Tudor, and were beautiful at one time, and some of them may have been kept up like the one on HGTV, I'm sure for resale. I used to drive by there every day on the way to Wayne med school, but there were lots of dope houses and whorehouses and burnt-out buildings with boarded windows throughout Indian Village. It was all Black no Whites that I could see at that time, and looked very scary to a young med student, not middle-class at all because of the mixed landscape Guarded or not you wouldn't let your kids out after dark. It's no Bloomfield Hills. The Book Cadillac is a Westin Hotel that they recently renovated, I guess to try to bring some value back to their original hotel and at considerable expense. The neighborhood around it is not safe under any circumstances, unless some miracle has occurred in the last few years. The condo price tag reflects what Westin spent on the renovations, not the value in that neighborhood, if my guess is correct. The couple that purchased that Condo didn't make the wisest choice. They could have done much better in other parts of Detroit. The Fifth for instance. Walled Lake. What action is she talking about? Drugs? Drive by's. Armed robberies?

The above is all very untrue. Indian Village is all upper class. 95% of the homes on the 3 main streets are beautiful. No crack houses on Seminole, Iroquois or Burns. As for the Book Cadillac, it is very safe there too. In fact, most of the downtown/midtown is very safe. People, walk around at night, tons of nightlife [[bars, theater, music, shows). As for raising a family, Indian Village is way more ideal. There are private schools in the neighborhood as well. Some of the private schools in the burbs bus from there as well.

I live in Midtown and all the condos in our building have sold for 175-500,000. Beats living in Bloomfield Hills too. Those McMansions are selling in the mid 2's to mid 3's. Poor people who bought them a few years ago.

The person above must have not been back to the city for at least a decade.

[EastsideAl]

Indian Village is on the East side along Jefferson Avenue, near the old Roostertail. Yes, the homes are very big, like Palmer Woods with big lawns but less English Tudor, and were beautiful at one time, and some of them may have been kept up like the one on HGTV, I'm sure for resale. I used to drive by there every day on the way to Wayne med school, but there were lots of dope houses and whorehouses and burnt-out buildings with boarded windows throughout Indian Village. It was all Black no Whites that I could see at that time, and looked very scary to a young med student, not middle-class at all because of the mixed landscape Guarded or not you wouldn't let your kids out after dark. It's no Bloomfield Hills. The Book Cadillac is a Westin Hotel that they recently renovated, I guess to try to bring some value back to their original hotel and at considerable expense. The neighborhood around it is not safe under any circumstances, unless some miracle has occurred in the last few years. The condo price tag reflects what Westin spent on the renovations, not the value in that neighborhood, if my guess is correct. The couple that purchased that Condo didn't make the wisest choice. They could have done much better in other parts of Detroit. The Fifth for instance. Walled Lake. What action is she talking about? Drugs? Drive by's. Armed robberies?

What in the world are you talking about? I grew up in Indian Village, my parents still live there, as do many people I know. I live very nearby in the same general area. Pretty much everything you said above is untrue. I don't think you even know where the Village is. You just know that it's near some ooooh so scary dark-skinned people.

[spkrart]

You're right Detroit Doc, I haven't been back in ten years [[a decade, at least). My folks are buried in Detroit. My cousins still live in Detroit and I sent one of them this site. He didn't believe the area around the Book Caddilac was safe after dark even now, but that is just an old man's opinion. . He is moving to Canada as soon as he retires.

I'm not sure I believe EastsideA's comments either. There were 50K homes and 400K homes in Indian Village. The 50K homes were windowless and boarded up. I know what I saw. I should have taken a video in my defense. Even Palmer Woods looked dangerous to me ten years ago and in the sixties, seventies and eighties that was high end living.

[Patrick]

Even Palmer Woods looked dangerous to me ten years ago

Lay off the coke

[Bigb23]

Indian Village is on the East side along Jefferson Avenue, near the old Roostertail. Yes, the homes are very big, like Palmer Woods with big lawns but less English Tudor, and were beautiful at one time, and some of them may have been kept up like the one on HGTV, I'm sure for resale. I used to drive by there every day on the way to Wayne med school, but there were lots of dope houses and whorehouses and burnt-out buildings with boarded windows throughout Indian Village. It was all Black no Whites that I could see at that time, and looked very scary to a young med student, not middle-class at all because of the mixed landscape Guarded or not you wouldn't let your kids out after dark. It's no Bloomfield Hills. The Book Cadillac is a Westin Hotel that they recently renovated, I guess to try to bring some value back to their original hotel and at considerable expense. The neighborhood around it is not safe under any circumstances, unless some miracle has occurred in the last few years. The condo price tag reflects what Westin spent on the renovations, not the value in that neighborhood, if my guess is correct. The couple that purchased that Condo didn't make the wisest choice. They could have done much better in other parts of Detroit. The Fifth for instance. Walled Lake. What action is she talking about? Drugs? Drive by's. Armed robberies?

Spoken like a true out of state carpet bagger. Do you speculate from the Texas coast?

[Eastside]

"but there were lots of dope houses and whorehouses"

Hey spkrat, I've often wondered what dope houses and whorehouses looked like? Please enlighten us.

[Trumpeteer]

Hey "spkrat",

You really don't have a clue do you???? The Book being recently renovated? How about virtually rebuilt on the interior? The "neighborhood" not being safe "under any circumstances"? So very typical as you make these statements of "fact" yet admit to not having been back in ten years. "I haven't been back in ten years [[a decade, at least)." Let us know when you decide which one it is.

I still hear friends who live in the burbs bitch about how nasty and dangerous downtown is yet they haven't been there in 10 - 20 years!! I visit from out of state, stay downtown at the Book, the Fort Pick, or the Courtyard, have friends come down to meet for drinks/dinner and they're freakin amazed at how much nicer the core has become!

[cman710]

Even Palmer Woods looked dangerous to me ten years ago and in the sixties, seventies and eighties that was high end living.

I drove through Palmer Woods just yesterday, and I have to say that it is hard for me to fathom how Palmer Woods could have possibly looked dangerous ten years ago. [[I say this figuring that, if anything, the area probably looked better ten years ago.) Palmer Woods is a beautiful subdivision and, on the whole, exceptionally well tended. There appear to be a handful of vacant houses, but they seem taken care of and there is nothing even remotely like the boarded up or burned out hulks that you find in some other areas of the city.

I acknowledge that the the crime rate in Palmer Woods will be higher than in comparable suburban areas. I looked at the crime map for the past month or so, and there were about four home invasions and one car theft. There did not appear to be any violent crimes at all. I am not sure how you can argue that the area "looks dangerous."

[spkrart]

dec·ade [[dkd, d-kd)
n. 1. A period of ten years.
2. A group or series of ten. 20,000 reasons to stay out of Detroit.
It's such a friendly town as you see by Spkrart's pummelling by Trumpeteer over a few observations.

[Trumpeteer]

2. A group or series of ten. 20,000 reasons to stay out of Detroit.
It's such a friendly town as you see by Spkrart's pummelling by Trumpeteer over a few observations.

Hell that wasn't even close to a "pummelling" Just calling you out on some very poorly backed "observations". You come on this forum, make absurd "observations" on areas you have no clue as to what they're really like, get your widdle fewins hurt when you're called to task for them, and then top your retort off by saying "20,000 reasons to stay out of Detroit"?

However, very impressed that you now apparently know that ten years is a decade

[afoley]

My grandparents have lived on Iroquois and Vernor for more than 25 years now. The last -- and only -- time I recall seeing a boarded-up house in Indian Village, it was because the windows were being replaced.

[jmcguire39]

Not to give any grief to Indian Village lovers but isn't this house in IV?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/3087174062/

[p1acebo]

Not to give any grief to Indian Village lovers but isn't this house in IV?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/3087174062/

One house?

[jmcguire39]

One house?

I was answering the above poster who said in 25 yrs they had never seen a boarded up house in the IV. Living in a rich area of America [[Brooklyn NY) its hard to fathom the Book house [[ A work of art IMHO) would be boarded up.In NYC there is no such thing as $1 houses or Mansions going for 20K, real estate prices are insane out here. My # 1 reason for wanting to leave this area is the high cost of housing.

[p1acebo]

I was answering the above poster who said in 25 yrs they had never seen a boarded up house in the IV. Living in a rich area of America [[Brooklyn NY) its hard to fathom the Book house [[ A work of art IMHO) would be boarded up.In NYC there is no such thing as $1 houses or Mansions going for 20K, real estate prices are insane out here. My # 1 reason for wanting to leave this area is the high cost of housing.

Well leave then, I would suspect NYC to be over priced regardless of economic climate because it is NYC.

[drjeff]

dec·ade [[dkd, d-kd)
n. 1. A period of ten years.
2. A group or series of ten. 20,000 reasons to stay out of Detroit.
It's such a friendly town as you see by Spkrart's pummelling by Trumpeteer over a few observations.

Let me just join in here and say that when you make idiotic statements about topics you know nothing about you deserve to be pummeled.

[afoley]

Not to give any grief to Indian Village lovers but isn't this house in IV?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/3087174062/

It's within the bounds of Indian Village, yes. But when you consider the circumstances [[an office building on one of the city's main drags, versus the dozens of well-kept residential homes on IV's three main streets) and the poster's odd assertion that IV had turned into a bombed-out neighborhood with crackheads, then it's still safe to say that IV is far from going downhill.

[EastsideAl]

The sadly unoccupied Book mansion is not within the bounds of Indian Village proper. The Village, which is zoned strictly single-family owner-occupied residential [[with the exception of a few rental carriage houses and some church properties), contains no businesses and ends at the alley north of Jefferson.

The Book mansion was converted to office use decades ago and has not been used as a residence for a very long time. Although it is not strictly speaking within the area covered by their mandate, the Indian Village Association, which has endeavored to care for properties left temporarily vacant in the neighborhood by the foreclosure crisis, is very concerned by the status of the Book property and has been trying to help seek a solution.

[afoley]

EastsideAl, I thought IV did include office space on Jefferson. I've been on a few IV home tours and occasionally the offices were open for viewing each year.

[detropia]

If you want to see episodes, there are websites that show TV shows, such as HULU or it might even be on the HGTV website. ...

I found one Detroit episode of HGTV's "House Hunters" on Hulu, But it wasn't the one described in this thread, it was about a young single woman purchasing her first house in Harper Woods.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/70364/hous...ime-home-buyer

I found it on hulu by searching on "Michigan" a search on "Detroit" didn't return any results.

If anyone has found the IV episode please post the link to it here.

Thanks!

[Michigan]

This sort of exposure is fantastic for Detroit. I again say that we should push for a "Motown" episode of Glee to be filmed in the D! Is no one else excited about this idea?

[EastsideAl]

EastsideAl, I thought IV did include office space on Jefferson. I've been on a few IV home tours and occasionally the offices were open for viewing each year.

Nope, the Village officially ends at the alley short of those buildings. However, the Book house, which was occupied in part for several years by a real estate office that handled a lot of IV homes, I believe was included on the house to show off its very nice renovation. Alas, that's now buried beneath all that wood.