  Hybridy Member Username: Hybridy Post Number: 146 Registered: 08-2006 |
just got a tour today unbelievable views from the third floor on upward penthouses are going to be hard to resist if you can dish out 600 hundo http://www.willysoverlandlofts .com/index_events.php ps- the avalon is moving to the ground floor of 55 west canfield not sure if thats old news or not | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 2367 Registered: 11-2003 |
Very nice, some are huge, over 2500 sq feet | ||
Hybridy Member Username: Hybridy Post Number: 147 Registered: 08-2006 |
unfortunately the largest penthouse units do not have the downtown skyline view they face new center-which some may prefer i'm 6'3" and if i stand on the second level of the penthouse the window header cuts off my view i guess if you sit up there its no issue-silly architects otherwise very well done they also have the ability to combo up some lease space for live/work units-sweet! demattia also owns the 2 surrounding warehouses which is where they're pulling to get that midtwon grocer-heres hoping on a side note-the developer told me they could have added 4 floors on top of the original guess demand isn't strong enough-but human scale is much better | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1682 Registered: 10-2006 |
How many of the units were already sold? | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 422 Registered: 02-2006 |
Yay!!! More overpriced lofts!!! | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 2120 Registered: 06-2006 |
anyone know if they will have balconies like in the rendering, or just the large windows that are there currently? | ||
Chow Member Username: Chow Post Number: 423 Registered: 10-2003 |
hybridy, shouldn't you be researching? | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1691 Registered: 10-2006 |
"Yay!!! More overpriced lofts!!!" How do you know that they are overpriced? How did you determine that? | ||
Bussey Member Username: Bussey Post Number: 590 Registered: 12-2003 |
whats underpriced? The fine homes of Ecorse? | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 423 Registered: 02-2006 |
From Crains Detroit. 8-12-07 "Willys Overland Lofts, under construction at 444 West Willis St., is a 75-loft project developed by Plymouth-based DeMattia Group and Midtown Detroit Construction has units ranging from $180,000 to $600,000." With the units being from 600 to 3000 square feet. That is about $300 per square foot for the cheapest and $200 for the most expensive. That is not affordable. I'm just so tired of lofts. The neighborhoods are dying and everyone thinks OVERPRICED downtown and mid-town loft are the answer to saving the city. Think of the taxes on that. What is Detroit at now about 60 mils? Why do you care anyway? You live Sprawl City U.S.A. | ||
Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 925 Registered: 11-2004 |
Yeah shame on these horrible people investing millions of dollars in new housing, making downtown and midtown one hottest real estate markets in the region. We'd be soooo much better without them. | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 2121 Registered: 06-2006 |
anyone know about the balconies? | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 424 Registered: 02-2006 |
I think calling any area in this region a "hot real estate market" is naive. I didn't know all of the other lofts in the area were sold and there was such a pent up demand. I'm just saying that lofts aren't the answer. Detroit was never about living downtown. It was about the neighborhoods!!!! | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1696 Registered: 10-2006 |
Point is, if people buy them, than they are not overpriced. If people don't buy them, then they are overpriced. That is it. Argument over. | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 426 Registered: 02-2006 |
That's my point. People are not going to buy them. | ||
Jelk Member Username: Jelk Post Number: 4597 Registered: 10-2003 |
And if people don't buy them at the current price, the prices will be reduced in order to meet the market. I hate it when people show up waving green money around trying to buy high-end lofts. These people are history's greatest monsters. | ||
Rjlj Member Username: Rjlj Post Number: 392 Registered: 11-2003 |
"The neighborhoods are dying and everyone thinks OVERPRICED downtown and mid-town loft are the answer to saving the city." When I drive around in midtown, I see a slow comeback happening. Do you even venture down there to see what is actually happening or are you making that statement from the comfort of your ordinary suburban home? Actually, providing good, safe, exciting places that attracts people to live is the answer to saving the city. And to Jelk, you are right, we don't need people who waive their green money buying these lofts. We need the projects to fail so that no one can live in them, horrible, horrible monsters they are.... | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1699 Registered: 10-2006 |
"That's my point. People are not going to buy them." But then if they do, you will be proved forever wrong... | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 427 Registered: 02-2006 |
Paul, If they are so reasonable why don't you come up here and buy one? Sure they are nice, but lofts aren't what the city needs. I live around Royal Oak and all I see up here are empty loft condos. Ferndale has a few condo projects that are slow to get off the ground because there are simply no buyers out there. You are so pro-Detroit but you live 800 miles away. I live a little closer and pay taxes to the city but I'm the dick because I don't like some stupid condos? Rjlj, I work in the city and go through midtown quite a bit. I seem to remember a few empty condos along Woodward last week. Have they sold? Of course since I live north of 8 mile I couldn't possible know anything about what is happening in the city but I'll try to prove otherwise anyway. I think answer to saving the city is deeper than just "providing good, safe, (and) exciting places (for people to live)". I think providing basic city services at a reasonable tax rate is one of the answers to saving the city. Having a police force and fire department that have the manpower and equipment to serve the current population would also help. Maybe a school district you would actually want to send a child to from K-12 would help attract a few new residents from other areas? Perhaps a grocery store here and there would help a little too. I think tearing down a few of the many burnt down shells of homes littering the city would also help. Wasn't your mayor going to do something about that in his first term? It would also be nice to see new homes on some of the vacant land all over the city. I know everyone here thinks homes should be squeezed together but any new houses should be built on at least 2 old lots. I say give people some space. Detroit has more open land than it knows what to do with and don't kid yourselves. It's population will never be near 1.25mil again. So spread the growth out. | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 128 Registered: 07-2007 |
definition of overpriced: "something you can't afford" | ||
Eric Member Username: Eric Post Number: 926 Registered: 11-2004 |
These lofts that you hate so much, are attracting middle and upper class residents and their tax dollars back to the city. Last time I checked money doesn't grow on trees and if want better schools, city services you find a way to pay for them | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 428 Registered: 02-2006 |
Lefty2, definition of overpriced: "something I wouldn't pay for" Eric, Detroit has the highest property tax rate around. Homeowners pay plenty, but for what? Cops and ambulances that don't show up until it's too late, to send their kids to private schools, to drive 20 miles to a decent grocery store, to pay excessive car and homeowners insurance..... I work in the city and I pay. What do I get for working in the city that someone doing the same job working outside of the city does not? I like how everyone takes shots but doesn't want to face any of the basic problems. Just dangle a shiny new loft in front of you and you're fascinated. Just because it is happening in Detroit doesn't mean it is good for Detroit. There is growth and there is smart growth. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5345 Registered: 08-2004 |
321brian, you left out one important little caveat in your argument about people not buying pricey Detroit property.... NEZ... http://www.modeldmedia.com/fea tures/nez14.aspx This article mentions that Detroit granted 1,270 properties Neighborhood Enterprise Zone status in 2004 and 2005 alone. It does help sell pricey lofts and condos in Detroit... | ||
Southen Member Username: Southen Post Number: 281 Registered: 08-2006 |
A quality development in an emerging district isnt a good thing? What does a loft conversion have anything to do with the city's operations? I dont think I saw one person on here say that these lofts are going to save the city. They are just providing different housing options that appeal to a different group of people. How is this development a bad thing? | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1888 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote: quote: Only problem is that building new homes in Detroit only in a spread out fashion on double-lots is actually dumb growth, not smart growth. There are a gazillion homes already like this, old and new, already available throughout the metro area, so very few people are going to move to the city to buy something like this. A higher-density environment is something that the central city can pull off better than anywhere else, something that people might actually move for. Oh, and by the way, this type of development partly solves the excessive car insurance problem more than low-density development does, because you're less likely to need a car. At least that's how it works in other large cities, once you have some critical mass plus transit. I'd guess homeowner's insurance is less of an issue, also. I'm really not against living in a standalone house on a larger lot (I live in one myself), but to think building more of that in Detroit is going to turn things around is nonsense. (It's kind of funny that you used the term "smart growth" as you did above, considering what smart growth usually refers to: http://www.smartgrowth.org/abo ut/principles/principles.asp?p rin=2 ) | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 134 Registered: 07-2007 |
I raise my whiskey glass and give a toast to anyone who invests and tries to improve ones surroundings. Although Detroit still should lower Prop. taxes for Everyone. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 124 Registered: 10-2006 |
I think these are nice but a little overpriced for an edgy location in a weak market. Smart buyers will wait a bit for prices to drop. Midtown is a good long-term investment, but not quite at these price levels. Sure beats those ridiculously overpriced (and empty) Royal Oak lofts. Notice all the lights are off at night in those new Royal Oak condos? I'm amazed the developers haven't made major price cuts yet. | ||
Rjlj Member Username: Rjlj Post Number: 393 Registered: 11-2003 |
Don't let 321brian get everyone down. She should not even be on this site and provides nothing constructive. 321, take 2 months to research what is really going on and them post back on this forum. | ||
321brian Member Username: 321brian Post Number: 429 Registered: 02-2006 |
Rjlj, You should take a few months off for a reality check. The Detroit real estate market is in the tank and there is no turnaround in sight. A lot of these new lofts will be empty for some time. I am just curious. I know they are not lofts but how full is the Woodbridge development? I just don't see why these loft or any loft development is so great. | ||
Southen Member Username: Southen Post Number: 283 Registered: 08-2006 |
Its a nice development of an old historic warehouse. These are the things that are happening in other cities and can play a big part in getting people back into Detroit. Why do you see them as being so bad? |
