The push to renovate a baker's dozen of mansions in Boston-Edison is heading toward its home stretch now that two of the homes have been renovated and the remaining 11 are set to be done by January.
The city is partnering with the
Michigan State Housing Development Authority and the
Detroit Land Bank to turn 13 mansions in the Boston-Edison into a high-end, sustainable homes that will remain viable places for middle-class families to live for decades. The project is leveraging millions of dollars in federally-funded Neighborhood Stabilization Funds on the project with an average investment of a little more than $200,000 per house.
Each house is for sale and goes for its appraised value. Most of the list prices are about $100,000. These homes are also available to the city's
Project 14 program, which focuses on moving more city employees, such as police officers, into the city. Some families have already purchased the finished homes and begun to move in.
"We're excited that people are seeing this as a vibrant and vital neighborhood," says Marja Winters, deputy director of
Planning & Development Dept. at the City of Detroit.
Each home has high-end features in both its aesthetics and sustainable core systems. Each house has Energy Star appliances, granite countertops, comprehensive insulation and a number of other sustainable features.
"Some of these even have geothermal (heating and cooling systems) that make it much more sustainable and viable in the longterm," Winters says.
Source: Marja Winters, deputy director of Planning & Development Dept at the city of Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
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