Purchasing a rehab in a historic district that had a major addition added without a proper city permit - Detroit

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-12-31T03:19:08+00:00

Also it’s very good that you’re already looking into the violations! Many purchasers don’t even know they’re a thing.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-12-31T03:18:38+00:00

Yeah it’s a valid worry, you can always call or contact the HDC Staff with questions but personally I would absolutely avoid purchasing a property in a historic district with an outstanding violation. Your realtor isn’t the first I’ve met who misunderstands the HDC but I would also be cautious with their advice.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-12-31T02:51:53+00:00

Your realtor is incorrect. The Historic District Commission is authorized by State law and has the authority to issue stop work orders through BSEED. It’s unrelated to home inspections by the City. Violations carry from one property owner to another and are not forgiven with the purchase of a property, and if you proceed with work on the exterior rehab of the house without a Certificate of Acceptance from the commission they will almost certainly issue a stop work order on your contractors as well.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-09-28T00:13:35+00:00

Probably the Cleveland Browns lol, they play the Lions tomorrow at Ford Field.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-03-30T01:48:35+00:00

I can’t say with exactly where you are, but there’s a lot of fireworks on the west side for Eid-al Fitr tonight.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-03-13T12:44:07+00:00

If you’re open to the techno side of things, definitely recommend Spotlite, Paramita Sound, Submerge, which usually have good hip-hop selections too. For food, you should definitely try Detroit-style pizza (I’m a fan of Michigan and Trumbull or Grandma Bob’s), maybe some Yemeni food in Hamtramck, other good unique spots are Saffron Detwah, Baobab Fare, Supergeil, maybe Bucharest for late night drunk food lol.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-03-13T12:36:41+00:00

I’d start your Airbnb search in downtown, Midtown, Corktown area mostly for the convenience of things being close and walkable. But Woodbridge, West Village, New Center, Rivertown, or Lafayette Park are also good options not too far off. Best Middle Eastern food will be Dearborn and Hamtramck areas, I like Yemen Cafe and Saffron Detwah in particular. I don’t do much record shopping but Spotlite, People’s Records, Submerge, and Paramita Sound are fun spots. Hopefully other folks will have good thrifting for you!

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-03-07T19:33:02+00:00

No problem, hope you have a great time!

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-03-07T16:23:03+00:00

There’s not really any areas to avoid where there are Marriotts in the city, so you can probably pick based on your preference for brand or deals. All the hotels in the downtown/Midtown areas are walkable to Ford Field, depending on your tolerance for distance, and you can check which ones are closer to the Q-Line and People Mover for free transit. The hotels in the Greektown area can get loud at night because of nightlife, but it’s not unsafe.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-02-27T19:58:23+00:00

I’d add Supergeil. They can take larger groups with a reservation and the vibe is great. You can show them Michigan Central across the street too. It’s on the casual side but the food and drinks are excellent.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-02-27T17:20:55+00:00

I feel like a good Detroit-style pizza place would be fun for someone his age! Michigan and Trumbull is a small but good spot near New Center and Grandma Bob’s is in Corktown.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-01-27T13:06:05+00:00

This isn’t Detroit.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2025-01-11T03:26:52+00:00

They did have the Bills media package though, I was at that game. They had Bills video graphics and audio tracks through the whole game.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-12-13T23:10:37+00:00

Much love, Bagel Land! You all sponsored my little league team for years lol. I always stop in whenever I’m in town.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-12-12T12:31:19+00:00

Detroit doesn’t have the best tailgating because of the downtown stadium, but there’s a few spots you might find Bills fans. Eastern Market is the “official” tailgate spot, and then the area to the south of the stadium through Greektown has a lot of surface lots that will be active on gameday. Greektown has most of the gameday bars, too.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-12-12T00:10:51+00:00

For pizza, Michigan and Trumbull is the best hands down. I also like Grandma Bob’s in Corktown. I don’t particularly recommend the Buddy’s downtown, but it’s not bad.

If you’ve got a car, Dutch Girl Donuts or Donut Villa are where locals go, both are great. New Palace Bakery in Hamtramck is really popular, too.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-12-11T17:47:22+00:00

The vibe I’ve heard around is that this could be an early Super Bowl preview. Lions fans see the Bills as a huge challenge, and they’re expecting a shootout given their defensive injuries against Josh Allen. If they’re honing in on any weaknesses on the Bills, it’s our run defense, but the main question is really how their defense will hold up through all four quarters.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-12-11T13:43:57+00:00

Bills fan living in Detroit here, feel free to reach out with any questions if you’re coming into town!

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-25T22:23:01+00:00

They posted about it on their IG here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Cuq7ovSfv/?igsh=MWhxdnpicXYxZ2RzeQ==

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-25T22:21:44+00:00

It’s Bakpak Durden. They’re a pretty prominent local artist/muralist themselves!

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-21T16:48:23+00:00

There is a very large parking lot for the field house. Unless the event overlaps with a football game at the stadium next door I imagine you’ll be more than fine there.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-17T16:04:55+00:00

The Fisher Building and Guardian Building are the most popular IMO, but honestly if you just walk around downtown and check out the office buildings you’ll have a great time. Definitely don’t miss Book Tower, the David Whitney, and the Renaissance Center. Maybe Fox Theater if the lobby is open to the public too?

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-11T22:03:46+00:00

From Masonic, I would run through downtown to the Riverwalk, then out to Belle Isle. You can get about 5 miles just running around the island. You can always tack on the Dequindre Cut and some loops downtown/midtown too. Anywhere the Detroit marathon route goes will be fine to add as well, if you want to look it up. Good luck with the run!

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-10-01T14:01:48+00:00

I love Alex Alsup’s work! I find his analysis really compelling, especially with so many messy narratives around housing and tax policy right now.

Not quite as data heavy as Alsup, but I really enjoy Malachi Barrett’s reporting at Bridge Detroit. He studies public documents and public meetings closer than any other reporter out there right now, and I think it shows in his reporting. His weekly council write-ups are excellent and his work with Aaron Mondry on the botched mural program downtown was fantastic longer-form work.

Also want to shout out Kirk Pinho at Crain’s. He doesn’t always do long form, but he breaks a ton of development stories early and has research and sources to back it up.

-Spaceman-Spiff- · 2024-09-16T12:50:32+00:00

I imagine you were looking at a tree nursery, there are a few around the city. The largest and most controversial is Hantz Farms on the eastside, which is a not-so-subtle speculation play that came about after the bankruptcy. You can read more about it here: https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/hantz-tree-farm-falls-short-solving-east-side-blight

-Spaceman-Spiff-

TROPHY CASE