Honestly-how many of these loft projects are viable ?

[Patrick]

Many of those lofts, from what I have seen, have not survived the test of time. They are essentially falling apart thanks to corner cutting and poor craftsmanship.

I can not and will not mention names [[if you know me, you have a good idea of what prominent places I am talking about), but those $399,000 Midtown and Downtown condos now selling in the five digits are still no deal. That is all not to mention, or taking into account that prices for some of them are facing the very real possibility of plummeting another 5%-30%.

And yes, I am still a huge Detroit supporter, and believe she is "coming back". But, those projects were "flip rich quick" scams, and the people that think they are getting them for deals are still, in some cases, fools. Be very careful with all Metro Detroit real estate right now!

You aren't the first one that I have heard this from. A cousin of mine has a loft downtown and it was cheaply finished with sub-paar and sometimes average craftsmanship at best.

[adamjab19]

You aren't the first one that I have heard this from. A cousin of mine has a loft downtown and it was cheaply finished with sub-paar and sometimes average craftsmanship at best.

pretty much anything, anywhere was built this way after 2000.

Craftmanship was pushed aside for profits.

[Gannon]

The FD Lofts in Eastern Market were built with decent planning and VERY good materials.

My unit was one of the first ones finished, and nearly five years later it is holding up very well.

Sound transmission from one unit to the next was only occasionally a problem with only a few units in the building.

All told, they were done right, with the ownership expecting nearly those $200 per square foot prices that the units at the top of the Book-Cadillac were commanding.


From the very start, though, I knew those were unrealistic figures...although I know other higher-end developments were aiming for the same. That said, I'd MUCH rather have the Eastern Market space than some dim view of Woodward Avenue...especially now that the Dequindre Cut is almost up to EM.


At $200 per foot, my old unit would've been nearly $200,000...which I thought utterly ridiculous...something more like $140 to 160k even at that market peak was more reasonable when I moved in, but I have no idea what they would bottom out at now [[or soon).

Anything of that cost PLUS an association fee for a glorified warehouse, even a VERY cool one? Not quite convincing enough for me.


When I visited other loft developments that were supposed to be on the same level as the FD Lofts, I was terribly disappointed with the build quality. Lotsa unbelievably shitty, rushed conversions.


But I've spent a great deal of time out in Royal Oak at the supposed "lofts" at Eleven and Main...and they suck WAY more than anything that I've seen downtown [[except the units converted by Dennis what's-his-name). I had to basically re-engineer one friend's AC cold-air return ducting so it didn't roar through the entire unit, after seeing his face drop on the night he took possession and it fired up. [[my guess is the selling agent NEVER had the furnace/AC system turned on when he was checking it out)

Last time I was there, an Escalade lost its fancy-ass rims, too! In a building housing "unfinished open-air condos" [[faux lofts, even the beams in the hallway ceilings were fake) ranging from $200 to 400k [[my friend bought the penthouse, and it is the biggest albatross in his portfolio), only TWO blocks from the esteemed RO Police's station.



Cheers anyways...

[LodgeDodger]

I love the FD lofts.