Van Dyke brightened by new facade at Nortown CDC's offices

Nortown CDC has redone the facade of its offices, located at 20245 Van Dyke -- and so has its neighbor, Van Dyke Dental. Both projects were funded by ReFresh Detroit! and the V-8 Gateway Collaborative. The completion of construction will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting on June 25 at 10 a.m.

Nortown replaced thin, security-fenced windows with energy-efficient ones and a white bubble awning with a tasteful striped one. Executive director Pat Bosch says it is important for her organization to lead by example when it comes to its appearance. "It is critical -- if we are doing the work of commercial revitalization, we need to send a strong message to the community that there are design guidelines that we are adopting," she says. "This is a pilot model [to show] what could be done with older storefronts that's also affordable, thanks to these incentive grants that help get the job done."

Nortown moved into its offices on January 1, so Bosch says they "are still trying to unpack boxes." Now that the building's exterior is improved, she hopes to tackle the interior next. "We are really looking to do green-building tech on the inside," she says.

Source: Pat Bosch, Nortown CDC
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh