Thursday, March 7, 2013

Detroit: Site Visit and Site Research Summary

Proposed Site:
Eastern Detroit, bounded by Mack Avenue, Conner Creek Greenway/ St Jean Street, East Jefferson Avenue, and Van Dyke Street.



 
 
Total area of the site encompasses approximately 1.7 square miles, or 1100 acres.

Key Areas/ Sites of Detroit:
http://onedayindetroit.com/





Overall Info:

2010 Census Info for the City of Detroit:
http://datadrivendetroit.org/web_ftp/Census/SF1/PLACE/D3_SF1_2622000.pdf


When looking at the vacancy of existing housing units for the property contained within the proposed site, 650 of 4436 available housing units, or 15%, were vacant in 2010.

(http://datadrivendetroit.org/data-mapping/toolbox/census-comparison/michigan-tract-profiles/)







 
This map is particularly helpful in quantifying the state of the lots at the proposed site.  There is a large portion of the proposed tract of land that has been categorized as having a large number of vacant lots and abandonment.
 
Most likely, the lots in the green and light yellow sections look similar to the following images.
 


 


1. Waterfront
Ship building was the original focus of the waterfront area.
The Globe Building, which housed the the Dry Dock Engine Works, which employed a young Henry Ford as an apprentice in the 1860s, is still present in the area.

 





Waterfront cleared in anticipation of casinos coming to the area, however, once the casinos were established in their "temporary" locations they didn't ever move to the Waterfront.
Dequidre Cut connects the Waterfront to Lafayette Park and Eastern Market.
Some buildings on waterfront still house fabricators and offices and there has been some movement in the process of waterfront residential development
University Prep High School is an example of adaptive reuse in the area.


2. Lafayette Park
(1961-1965) Mies van der Rohe
http://miessociety.org/legacy/projects/lafayette-park/

Urban redevelopment project that was designed to fit within the old street grid.  The units, particularly the townhouse units, are designed to fit like puzzle pieces, alternating the larger two "unit" space from front to back.  Greenspace was strategically incorporated into the project.  Details such as raising the units  a half level from the street in order for views from the living space to be over the parked cars outside were carefully considered in the design.

The property currently functions as a co-op.




 
 



3. Dequidre Cut
http://www.detroitriverfront.org/dequindre/



4. Eastern Market


 


http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/news_page.php?id=138

"Michigan is second only to California in terms of crop diversity, but the state is in the 20th percentile for food processing, he says. "We're not taking Michigan crops and making value-added products out of them. We think that is one of our most important functions -- how to encourage that food processing piece to expand."

At Eastern Market, entrepreneurs can develop and test-market their products, then go regional.
McClure's Pickles is an example. The Troy firm got its start at the market and has since expanded regionally and into other states. Eastern Market will add a professional catering kitchen for businesses that need something more than a household kitchen to make edibles.

Unlike Ann Arbor and surrounding communities, Eastern Market doesn't have preserved green space for agricultural development. However, it is surrounded by about 40 miles of vacant land, much of it already becoming cultivated by community growers.

So, could urban agriculture be a significant source of fresh food for the metropolitan area? "The term metropolitan agriculture makes more sense than urban agriculture, if you're looking at food production," Carmody says. "Could Detroit possibly be this hub? Technically the answer is yes, if you devoted a substantial amount of the [vacant] land to agriculture. We need to think about agriculture, whether it's urban, suburban, or rural within the metropolitan area.
 '
A farmer in Detroit shouldn't think about growing crops just for Detroit residents. They should be growing crops to make money; if that includes selling to restaurants in Ferndale or Troy, bring it on … just like a farmer in St. Clair County or Monroe County shouldn't be thinking about just selling to residents within their region.' "



 
 Relationship of Site to Eastern Market (2.5 miles separation)- joined by a straight shot down Mack Avenue.
 
 
Site, Lafayette Park, and Eastern Market in close proximity


5. Western Detroit






6. Brush Park
First developed with Victorian homes in the 1850s, Brush Park was heaviliy developed through the 1870s and 1880s.  During that time Detroit's wealthiest citizens lived in this neighborhood. 

"As of 2012, about 80 original structures remained in the area. During the 19th century, around 300 homes were built in Brush Park, including 70 Victorian mansions. However, the neighborhood began to decline in the late 19th and early 20th century, when the advent of streetcars and then automobiles allowed prosperous citizens to live farther from downtown."



The Inn at Ferry Street is a bed and breakfast that consists of 4 renovated original homes and 2 carriage houses from Brush Park's height.
http://innonferrystreet.com/05/



Initial Proposed Site Strategy:

Subdivision of the 1100 acres into smaller tracts of land that could function indpendently, each of which may have their own urban agriculture focus and unique cluster of residential development related to the farm.


 

 
After referring to the map detailing vacant lots, it is proposed that segment 2 is the first tract of land to be cleared, planted, and developed with a prefabricated housing development in a designated zone.

Diagram of Site 2
 
Diagram of Site 2 with total acreage (104 acres) and proposed zone for residential development (14 acres).  This site has a commercial zone that exists along East Jefferson Avenue that will be preserved (11 acres) and converted to a complementary use.

Site 2 will be predominantly planted for farmland and will be a model for future site development on adjacent parcels.
 

The proposed layout of future site development with residential zones (in blue) and commercial zones (in purple) designated.
 

The segments for development were based on the current use map where abandoned lots will be converted to farm and the majority of existing streets will be demolished.  However, the Indian Village neighborhood is still well populated and will not be included in the proposed development.
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment