A 1930s home that has been empty for more than a decade in the Crary-St. Mary’s section of the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood of Detroit is finding new life thanks to the popular PBS show, This Old House.
According to the show, the building was filled with discarded belongings and refuse. Anything of value such as copper pipes and wires were gone. In just roughly 4 months, a team of Detroit-based contractors gutted the house and installed all new plumbing, wiring and mechanicals, with a new kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and landscaping to finish the job.
Although much of the talk as of late has been demolition, there’s still housing stock that is salvageable. The Detroit Land Bank Authority has teamed up with Quicken Loans and Home Depot Renovation Services to renovate abandoned houses and sell them to buyers who promise to live in them to try to make a dent in the 30,000 abandoned homes reportedly no finding their way back into the real estate market.
This Old House is in its 37th season. Here’s a link to information on the first house they did.
“Detroit has so many great stories to tell,” said This Old House senior producer John Tomlin. “There’s real innovation happening, and we’re hoping these episodes will help shine a light on the city’s efforts to restore and reclaim more of their community’s homes.”
And this is a house you’ll have the chance to live in. The house will go on the market in early 2017. We can’t wait to see what they’ve done with it.