Grandmont Rosedale is a community of four neighborhoods that have distinct but interwoven identities. Together, they comprise an urban village that rivals affluent suburban communities in demographics — but surpasses most in community unity and involvement.
As a whole, the Grandmont Rosedale area has a homeownership rate of 93 percent, a remarkable statistic when one considers that is higher than the rate of homeownership in affluent suburbs such as Grosse Pointe, Canton, Northville and West Bloomfield. Median housing values in the area, which is comprised of five census tracts, ranged from $113,000 to $173,000 in the 2000 census, and almost 75 percent of its residents aged 25 or older have attended college.
While all four neighborhoods share in these numbers as well as many of the same services — like youth soccer, softball and baseball leagues, a volunteer-run recycling drop-off center, and access to the
North Rosedale Community House — each one has a distinct identity.
North Rosedale ParkNorth Rosedale Park sits north of Grand River, the entire community’s main street, and stretches from the Southfield Freeway west to Evergreen. Overall, its housing values are the highest within the area, and its residents hold the highest median income. The are is supported by
North Rosedale Park Civic Association, and consists of approximately 1,700 homes — each of which is delivered a monthly copy of the neighborhood’s newsletter, The Tattler.
What really sets North Rosedale Park apart from any other community in metro Detroit is its neighborhood-owned Community House and the park that surrounds it. Serving as a center for all of Grandmont Rosedale, the Community House was developed and is owned by NRPCA. It serves as a meeting place as well as a home to special events ranging from weddings to steak dinners; it is also home to the Park Players, a theater group that puts on several shows a year.
The four-acre park that surrounds the Community House — also owned and maintained by NRPCA — is HQ to the neighborhood’s youth leagues (although some games are played at other nearby parks) as well as ice-skating in the winter. Long-time resident Marsha Bruhn raised her family in North Rosedale and explains why that made such sense for her. “This is such a family-oriented neighborhood — there are so many activities for young people [such as] soccer and baseball. Young people can also participate in the local theater group. We like the fact that it’s very family-oriented, that committed individuals choose to live here, that it is diverse in terms of age, lifestyle, [and] racial and ethnic backgrounds.”
The commitment of which Bruhn speaks is evident in the activities of NRPCA. When Emerald Ash Borer disease hit the area, the association — with the help of partners like Greening of Detroit — removed 69 dead ash trees from the neighborhood and is now in the process of replacing them with new trees. NRPCA, which is funded by voluntary membership dues, maintains boulevard islands, plants flowers, removes graffiti, engages in neighborhood crime prevention initiatives, and handles snowplowing. Bruhn states, “I like that people that live here don’t just wait for the city to do everything, there’s a lot of initiative. There is a long tradition of neighborhood involvement and neighborhood activities.”
Rosedale Park Rosedale Park, which is bounded by Grand River, the Southfield Freeway, Lyndon and Evergreen, is the oldest neighborhood in the Grandmont Rosedale area — it was platted in 1916 and its first house was constructed in 1917. Developed as a tranquil suburban neighborhood with close proximity to downtown jobs, it was populated by a mix of professionals remarkably similar to what one might find in the neighborhood today: doctors, teachers, civil servants, architects, and engineers.
The
Rosedale Park Improvement Association formed in 1922 to address concerns over municipal services, crime, and neighborhood beautification — it functions today in much the same fashion. RPIA also publishes a monthly newsletter and snowplowing, and also provides a volunteer radio patrol and a garden club.
RPIA functions with a very strong network of block clubs, with one of their proudest tasks being to maintain their block’s boulevard island. While strolling, biking or driving through the streets of Rosedale Park, one can’t help but notice the flowers, benches and signage brightening up the lovely boulevards. In fact, RPIA promotes Island Boulevard Awards, which leads to friendly competition between blocks. Area resident Tom Goddeerris muses, “If you were going to build a neighborhood from scratch, putting in those little islands is a good idea. …[They are] a site for working and for gathering.”
Rosedale Park is currently in the process of obtaining local historic designation, which, if obtained, would mean stricter guidelines with regards to materials used in home maintenance and improvement. Because of this increase in city oversight, not all residents were for obtaining the designation. However, after a series of neighborhood meetings and much lively debate, Goddeeris says, “The majority were in favor.” This type of civic involvement has been typical of Rosedale Park since its earliest days—it is a neighborhood whose sense of the past has kept it headed towards a stable future.
GrandmontThe
Grandmont neighborhood is situated east of the Southfield Freeway and south of Grand River. Its slogan, “Home of Good Neighbors,” aptly sums up the residents of its 800 houses that Goddeeris describes as “incredibly nice historic homes.” Its neighborhood association,
Grandmont Community Association, publishes and delivers the monthly Grandmonitor and hosts an arts and crafts fair, annual dinner and potluck picnic in addition to providing similar services to Granmont as do the NRPCA and the RPIA to their respective neighborhoods.
What drew Granmont resident Pamela Todd to the neighborhood — when she was initially looking at North Rosedale Park and the University District — were the neighborhood’s tree-lined streets. Unlike most of Detroit’s older neighborhoods, Grandmont was never planted with elms, leaving many of its streets with a bounty of 80-year old maple trees that provide a dense and pleasant street canopy.
Todd lives in a brick colonial with her husband, Marcell, and three sons. Their oldest son will start youth soccer in the fall, and the family often bikes and walks through the neighborhood. Todd points out that their neighborhood is located within reasonable proximity to downtown, Dearborn and the northwest suburbs. Of the quiet neighborhood in which she has chosen to raise her family, she says, “We feel very safe here.”
Grandmont #1Todd and her family head across the Southfield Freeway to visit Flintstone Playground, located at the corner of Rosemont and Acacia in
Grandmont #1. It is a pleasant park frequented by young children and families that live in Grandmont, Grandmont #1 and Rosedale Park.
While some of the houses in Grandmont #1 look like those seen frequently in Rosedale Park, many of the homes in Grandmont #1 were developed in the 1940s and 50s, giving them a much more modern appearance. Some of these houses are colonials, some are bungalows, and there are even some more modern ranch-style homes.
The neighborhood association,
Grandmont #1 Improvement Association, encourages its residents to maintain their homes, hosts social activities and works to prevent encroachments that might negatively effect the housing property values of the neighborhood.
Buying in Grandmont Rosedale A great resource for anyone considering moving to Grandmont Rosedale is
Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp., whose service area covers all four neighborhoods. GRDC has renovated and sold 46 homes in the area that were once vacant and works diligently on improving the viability of Grand River Avenue, which serves as the commercial corridor for the neighborhoods.
Staples such as
Foodland Grocery Store,
George’s Ham & Corned Beef,
Al’s Rosedale Café and
Rosedale Hardware line the strip along with CVS and Rite Aid, lots of fast food options and other service shops like dry cleaners and the like. As Marcell Todd puts it, Grand River provides “everything that used to be available in any neighborhood, all within walking distance.”
A recent Grandmont Rosedale open house of homes for sale in the area, which was co-sponsored by GRDC and all four neighborhood associations, provided attendees with a list of houses for sale in all four neighborhoods. While generally North Rosedale Park homes were the highest priced and Grandmont #1 homes the most affordable, homes in each of the four neighborhoods generally fall within the range of $140,000 to $250,000. Bruhn, who helped organize the event, comments on one of Grandmont Rosedale’s best amenities: “high quality housing with a lot of architectural features and individuality. You can get a lot for your money.”
For more information about Grandmont Rosedale visit the Model D
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Visiting Guide-
Investing Guide
Directions to Grandmont Rosedale
From the East:
Take I-94 West and merge onto I-696 West via Exit 229 toward Lansing. Take Exit 13 toward Greenfield Rd. Turn left onto Greenfield Rd and then turn right onto West 10 Mile Rd. Turn left onto Southfield Rd which becomes MI-39 South/Southfield Fwy. Take Exit 12 toward M-5/Grand River Ave/Fenkell Ave. Stay straight to go onto Southfield Fwy and turn right onto Fenkell Ave. Arrive at Grand River Ave in Grandmont Rosedale.
From the North:
Take I-75 South toward Detroit and merge onto I-696 via Exit 61 toward Lansing. Take Exit 13 toward Greenfield Rd. Turn left onto Greenfield Rd and then turn right onto West 10 Mile Rd. Turn left onto Southfield Rd which becomes MI-39 South/Southfield Fwy. Take Exit 12 toward M-5/Grand River Ave/Fenkell Ave. Stay straight to go onto Southfield Fwy and turn right onto Fenkell Ave. Arrive at Grand River Ave in Grandmont Rosedale.
From the West:
Take I-96 East and merge onto I-696 East via Exit 163 on the left toward Port Huron/Grand River Ave. Merge onto John C Lodge Fwy/M-10 via Exit 8 toward US-24/Telegraph Rd. Take the M-39/Southfield Fwy exit and merge onto the Southfield Fwy South. Take Exit 12 toward M-5/Grand River Ave/Fenkell Ave. Stay straight to go onto Southfield Fwy and turn right onto Fenkell Ave. Arrive at Grand River Ave in Grandmont Rosedale.
From the South:
Take I-94 East toward Detroit and take the M-39/Southfield Fwy/Pelham Rd. exit, Exit 204. Take the M-39/Southfield Fwy exit on the left. Merge onto M-39 North/Southfield Fwy via the exit on the left. Take Exit 12 toward M-5/Grand River Ave/Fenkell Ave. Stay straight to go onto Southfield Fwy to Grand River Ave. Arrive in Grandmont Rosedale.
Take I-75 North toward Detroit and merge onto M-39 North. Take Exit 12 toward M-5/Grand River Ave/Fenkell Ave. Stay straight to go onto Southfield Fwy to Grand River Ave. Arrive in Grandmont Rosedale.
Photos:
Archdale Street in Grandmont
Bretton Street in North Rosedale Park
The North Rosedale Park Community House
A Typical Street in Rosedale Park
A Boulevard in Rosedale Park
Maple Tree Canopy Over a Street in Grandmont
A Typical Street in Grandmont #1
Metro Foodland Grocery
All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger