New Homes Being Built Near Kettering HS/Van Dyke/Gratiot Area

[royce]

I couldn't believe my eyes, but in the midst of tearing down vacant homes, there are new homes being built in the area around Kettering HS/Van Dyke/Gratiot. This area has been losing homes for decades, and on streets like Granger and Hendrie, new homes are going up where there were only two or three houses on the entire block for at least 20 years. Has this been an area targeted by the city to try to get people to move into under the Detroit Works Project? On the contrary, because of so much abandonment over the last 30 years, I thought this area would surely be an area targeted to be mothballed, vacated, reconfigured, or whatever. However, then I got to thinking that because Kettering HS stayed open and I-94 and Gratiot are nearby, that putting new residents in this area might make sense.

The homes are being called "Maxwell Homes." Maxwell Street is in the area so I assume that's why they are being called "Maxwell Homes." The City of Detroit is a part of the development team according to the development sign [[which went up several weeks after the first homes' foundations were put in), but I couldn't make out if there was a website to see how much these homes were being sold for.

My next question about this development is, "Who do they expect to move into this area? Like I said, the area has been on the decline for decades and Kettering HS was scheduled to close back in 2010. My thought is that the city already has folks lined up to move into them because the houses themselves look like many of the new homes being built in the city that, in many cases, have been occupied without ever seeing a development sign go up. The homes themselves are two-story, half brick half vinyl siding with a one-car attached garage and a generous backyard surrounded by a shiny chain-linked fence.

Well, I hope things work out for the best. It would be nice to see more people living in the area [[I grew up just south of this area and have witnessed the abandonment). Kettering HS could be the focal point to bring this neighborhood back, but with all the craziness going on at DPS I just don't know what's going to happen with this area. Anyone have some additional 411?

[stasu1213]

I couldn't believe my eyes, but in the midst of tearing down vacant homes, there are new homes being built in the area around Kettering HS/Van Dyke/Gratiot. This area has been losing homes for decades, and on streets like Granger and Hendrie, new homes are going up where there were only two or three houses on the entire block for at least 20 years. Has this been an area targeted by the city to try to get people to move into under the Detroit Works Project? On the contrary, because of so much abandonment over the last 30 years, I thought this area would surely be an area targeted to be mothballed, vacated, reconfigured, or whatever. However, then I got to thinking that because Kettering HS stayed open and I-94 and Gratiot are nearby, that putting new residents in this area might make sense.

The homes are being called "Maxwell Homes." Maxwell Street is in the area so I assume that's why they are being called "Maxwell Homes." The City of Detroit is a part of the development team according to the development sign [[which went up several weeks after the first homes' foundations were put in), but I couldn't make out if there was a website to see how much these homes were being sold for.

My next question about this development is, "Who do they expect to move into this area? Like I said, the area has been on the decline for decades and Kettering HS was scheduled to close back in 2010. My thought is that the city already has folks lined up to move into them because the houses themselves look like many of the new homes being built in the city that, in many cases, have been occupied without ever seeing a development sign go up. The homes themselves are two-story, half brick half vinyl siding with a one-car attached garage and a generous backyard surrounded by a shiny chain-linked fence.

Well, I hope things work out for the best. It would be nice to see more people living in the area [[I grew up just south of this area and have witnessed the abandonment). Kettering HS could be the focal point to bring this neighborhood back, but with all the craziness going on at DPS I just don't know what's going to happen with this area. Anyone have some additional 411?

The same thing is being done on Marlborough and Kercheval. Area is desolate but new homes are being built. I am wondering if the owner of the land are building these homes as some type of deterrent to keep the city from using "vacant land" as an excuse to build on the owner's property. The city probably can't build or take over land that newly built homes or structures sits on. The new home are territory markers for the owners of the land who probably lives outside the city and probably the country

[brizee]

I've seen a lot of new homes dotted around Van Dyke the past few years. They seem to be a little on the cheap side.

I grew up on Six Mile and Van Dyke, so I'm pulling for the area.