A Question about the Boston-Edison Neighborhood (Detroit, Canton: appointed, crime, houses)

[canudigit]

I was in Detroit yesterday, and I happened to be at the DIA on Woodward, so I took a drive through Boston-Edison, since I have heard so much about it. Honestly, I was disappointed, not in the beautiful old mansions there, but in the condition of the area in general--weeds, streets in need of repair, etc. Is there an ongoing effort to spruce this area up and get people to invest in the neighborhood again? I was under the impression that a lot of people had moved there and turned things around, but it still looks pretty rough in a lot of areas. Any comments? If those same houses were in Grosse Point, they would easily cost over $1 million. What a shame!

[zthatzmanz28]

Yes it is. These were the jewels of Detroit in the early 1900s. Folks can barely afford to heat these behemoths let alone pay the outrageous taxes...most are valued between $250K and $375K.

Just a complete travesty.

[canudigit]

I can't even imagine what it would cost to heat those homes. Some of them look like they must be close to 8,000 square feet, maybe even bigger. Also, I noticed that within a block or two you have Woodward Ave., and not a very up and coming section of Woodward. I can't imagine paying $300,000 for a house and living within a block of that section of Woodward. No wonder people move to the McMansions in the suburbs. For $300,000 you can get a nice, newly constructed home somewhere like Canton Township where the crime is infinitely lower. It's just sad, because those homes are treasures that can never be duplicated. In a perfect world, Detroit would have tons of unused revenue and use it to make Boston-Edison a walking museum, with all of the houses restored to their original glory. In a perfect world.

[Dexterguy]

Originally Posted by canudigit

I was in Detroit yesterday, and I happened to be at the DIA on Woodward, so I took a drive through Boston-Edison, since I have heard so much about it. Honestly, I was disappointed, not in the beautiful old mansions there, but in the condition of the area in general--weeds, streets in need of repair, etc. Is there an ongoing effort to spruce this area up and get people to invest in the neighborhood again? I was under the impression that a lot of people had moved there and turned things around, but it still looks pretty rough in a lot of areas. Any comments? If those same houses were in Grosse Point, they would easily cost over $1 million. What a shame!

It's extremely sad to see how the Boston-Edison neighborhood has declined so quickly these last few years alone. Up until 2006/2007 the neighborhood was taken care of pretty well, but when the recession hit hard, Boston-Edison also got hit hard.

The last time I drove through Boston-Edison was in August and I even saw some houses boarded up, with weeds growing through the driveway.

I also read an article on Boston-Edison last spring in the Free Press that said many of those old houses were not taken care of properly in the last two decades or so and have been rotting from the inside out, including major mold problems and black mold that is almost impossible to get rid of unless in gut the house, which is extremely costly. No one is going to invest that much money into a house, especially one in Detroit were the values of the homes have shrunk terribly.

I can say that the houses that you will find in Boston-Edison can ONLY be found in a couple places across metro Detroit.

Including...
-Boston-Edison (Detroit)
-Indian Village (Detroit)
-Grosse Pointes (Suburbs)

And a few houses in Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest.

I hope Boston-Edison can rebound one day, but it's going to take a lot of investing by someone.

[Dexterguy]

Here's the article that I was talking about that I read back in March:
Empty homes slowly decaying | detnews.com | The Detroit News

[canudigit]

Thanks for the link. It's not what I was hoping to read, but it is reality. I know that there is a lot of money in the outlying suburbs of Detroit, but I can't imagine any of those people seriously wanting to invest in this jewel of old Detroit, not when the area around it looks like it does.

[zthatzmanz28]

Originally Posted by canudigit

I can't even imagine what it would cost to heat those homes. Some of them look like they must be close to 8,000 square feet, maybe even bigger. Also, I noticed that within a block or two you have Woodward Ave., and not a very up and coming section of Woodward. I can't imagine paying $300,000 for a house and living within a block of that section of Woodward. No wonder people move to the McMansions in the suburbs. For $300,000 you can get a nice, newly constructed home somewhere like Canton Township where the crime is infinitely lower. It's just sad, because those homes are treasures that can never be duplicated. In a perfect world, Detroit would have tons of unused revenue and use it to make Boston-Edison a walking museum, with all of the houses restored to their original glory. In a perfect world.

Yeah, those Canton Palaces are nice, but the Boston-Edison homes are (can be) Magnificent places to call home...Just rather SAD the few great examples left in Detroit are going to be forgotten...

[usermi]

Reading thru some old posts and oh boy how things have changed!

[Coldjensens]

we looked at a house there. It was 18,000 s.f.

Part of the problem was a block away - boarded up houses, falling down houses etc.

Another problem was no place for kids to go/play. Other than inside the giant house, where could they ride their bicycles?

Another problem with the annoyingly high Detroit property and income taxes.

Crime and schools were, to us, a manageable problem.

Many family members and friends would not have come to visit us if we moved there. Lots of suburbanites still live in terror of the City.

Weeds along the street did not bother me. I can pull weeds, call the City, spray weed killer. The condition of properties a block away was really disheartening though.

Detroit neighborhoods need to get organized and start taking care of themselves.

I owrked on a neighborhood clean up project trough United Way. The neighborhood we worked in was terrible. Mostly abandoned/collapsing houses or vacant lots. We were cleaning the alleys many of them you could nto even see the alley for all the trash and overgrowth. Hardly anyone lived there, the people we met were trying to figure out how to leave. Boston Edison was a short walk away.

[secondbreakfast]

Originally Posted by usermi

Reading thru some old posts and oh boy how things have changed!

Yes, instead of being mugged, you get beaten to death: https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...te/1820364001/