Jim Schmeir runs his company, 4th Street Productions, from his Eton Street Station work/live unit in Birmingham. (top) Colin Hubbell is the owner of 55 Canfield Lofts, a work/live development in the Midtown district of Detroit. (bottom)
Can the CommuteMetro Detroiters discover the joys of a commute-free lifestyles
On a bustling Monday night, Shannon Lowell is the barista at Café 1923 in Hamtramck, MI, serving hot, frothing drinks to the mayor, a couple of journalists, off duty sausage factory workers and a bar owner. Between orders he runs upstairs to check on his grandmother who resides there, then comes down to serve sandwiches to a small group meeting in the back room.
Lowell, 38, co-owner of a lively café situated in a former, turn-of-the 20th-century butcher shop that was restored with loving perfection last spring, revels in an Old World community where most of his patrons live within walking distance and own shops below their residences or just around the block.
With seven years of sweat equity into his rehab project, Lowell percolates a dream that is replicating itself in new construction in Southeast Michigan and around the nation — a close-knit aggregate of dwellings and businesses where entrepreneurs rule with familiarity.
The line between living and working is blurring all over town.
The notion of cottage industries wired by the latest communication devices and situated close to urban centers has unlimited possibilities for attracting and retaining knowledge workers, according to Lou Musante, a Pittsburgh-based consultant to Richard Florida, author of the "Rise of the Creative Class." Shopkeepers such as Lowell are eager to share the wealth.
"My neighbors grab a chair, catch me up on what's happening in the neighborhood. If they don't have money they write it down, pay later. No sweat," Lowell said. "We cherish the building. The business is a wonderful bonus."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites 4.1 million home-based businesses, and millions of people who work part-time from home. Developers quote this target for new and rehabbed condos, lofts and studios with flex zoning and ample parking for visitors.
X-OLOGY magazine found four fresh projects offering a home and a shingle to innovative entrepreneurs. There's an industrial producer and lawyer starting fresh in Birmingham, a 19-year-old retailer in Walled Lake, a movement afoot in Hamtramck and a visionary developer in the Midtown district of Detroit.
Happy in Hamtown
A happy chatter of friends, techno music and coffee making fills Caf�eacute; 1923. Erik Turngate, director of community and economic development (www.hamtramck.us), opens his laptop to show pictures of the Vet Park Lofts, the first live/work project for Hamtramck.
On Joseph Campau, the busiest strip in Hamtramck, developer Chris Bray converted a former Disabled American Veterans post to four units priced between $185,000 and $189,000. The units, which overlook Veterans Park, feature 16-foot-high ceilings, plate glass windows, spiral staircases, full basements and rear courtyards.
"You are down the hall and around the corner from urban pioneers." —Colin Hubbell, owner of 55 Canfield Lofts
Hamtramck expects to develop a wellspring of new live/work units to complement the thriving shops and affordable residences in the 2.1-acre town with new immigrants from as many as 30 nations sharing space with artisans, thespians, entrepreneurs and workers from the nearby American Axle & Manufacturing and Kowalski Sausage plants.
"Living here is much like a cultural immersion," says Mayor Karen Majewski, who is fond of saying hello in 15 languages. "Almost everything is within walking distance. People stop, take time for their neighbors."
Wishful in Walled Lake
Fresh out of West Bloomfield High School in 2006, Heather Kral, 19, bought a live/work condominium in Walled Lake for her jewelry store and residence. She is the youngest entrepreneur along a row of hair, nail, antique and art shops close to a picturesque downtown.
"My grandmother thought this would be a good investment. I'm surrounded by interesting shopkeepers who help refer business to one another," says Kral, who augments her income by coaching cheerleading at West Bloomfield High.
The stylish Legato Live/Work units, sold by Geof Greeneisen, vice president of the Terra Land Group in Novi (www.terralandgroup.com), include small-scale developments in Walled Lake, Ferndale and Howell. The company expects to build more than 300 units around the region. The price ranges from $159,900 for a third-story loft unit to $209,000 for a live/work with street offices.
Kral runs Sparkling Elegance, retailing artisan jewelry, scarves, purses and accessories in the 300-square-foot space. She can lounge in a kitchen with granite counters, and enjoy a two-bedroom, two-bath unit with zero commuting time. A two-car garage behind the unit serves as storage for off-season merchandise and parking for residents.
"It takes the right location, the right city for everything to fall into place as flexibly as we would like to see," Greeneisen says. The beauty of the live/work is flex zoning, whereby living and working are in harmony. People can choose to use the space as entirely residential or commercial or some combination.
Greeneisen's vision is even bigger. "We see this as a catalyst for infill communities, something to revitalize existing retail," he says.
Shannon Lowell runs his restaurant, Café 1923, beneath his grandmother's residence in Hamtramck.
Based in Birmingham
Clients love Jeff Schmeir's efficient, 500-square-foot office on the first floor of his live/work townhouse in Eton Street Station (www.crosswinds.com) inside the emerging Railroad district of Birmingham.
The get-down-to-business office affords Schmeir plenty of space to run his industrial production business, 4th Street Productions. If time allows, he invites clients upstairs for coffee and a terrace view of the 55 artisan lofts and work units built in trend-setting Eton Street Station.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites 4.1 million home-based businesses, and millions of people who work part-time from home.
Schmeir and his wife, Ilana, bought a 3,600-square-foot unit with four floors after he closed his production office and sold their house in 2004. An average unit runs $539,000 for commercial frontage, two-car garage and three residential floors. He is proud to say he lost 25 pounds running up and down the 56 stairs between floors.
If Schmeir is worried about a bustling complex with 24-7 traffic and neon, Crosswinds Communities, a Novi, MI-based condominium and home builder, assured him and other property owners they work closely with the city of Birmingham and the condo association to fit zoning to the new lifestyles.
Jim Agemy, vice president of Crosswinds Communities, says the number of parking places, business hours and noise volume are strictly regulated. "The biggest noise we hear is trains," Schmeir says. As the economy rebounds, he hopes to see more businesses and condo owners locate there. "Some of us are planting community gardens in our free time."
Migrating to Midtown
The line between living and working is blurring all over town, according to Colin Hubbell, owner of 55 Canfield Lofts in the bustling Midtown district of Detroit (www.hubbellgroupdetroit.com). Hubbell sold nine of his 29 units while completing construction.
Prospective tenants can produce work inside their units, conduct meetings in Avalon Bakery's new café, slated for the first floor, and accommodate vans and customers in a large, gated garage.
Fresh out of West Bloomfield High School in 2006, Heather Kral bought a live/work condominium in Walled Lake for her jewelry store and residence.
"You can accomplish more with today's technology regardless of what city you're in," he adds. The new Bureau of Urban Living sells office supplies and clever products across the street. Tenants can take a break and walk to Wayne State University, 30 restaurants and the Detroit Institute of Arts in the epicenter of cool Detroit.
The 700- to 1,500-square-foot loft condos are priced between $140,000 and $210,000. Carved out of an 80-year-old warehouse with giant cement pillars, brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows, they offer an arresting view for live/work options.
"You are down the hall and around the corner from urban pioneers," Hubbell says, noting he is on a mission to build hip housing in the cultural district of Detroit.
1 comment:
Great way to live and work....
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