The Motown movement - Young people put down roots in city to help it flourish again

BY MARGARITA BAUZA • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER • August 3, 2008

Jerrid Mooney, 34, started to hang out at the Detroit Opera House a few months ago.

The systems analyst from Ann Arbor was not a big fan of Detroit. But he was stunned to find a young, vibrant crowd he had much in common with.

As he made friends and visited their homes, he discovered the Carlton, a 1920s hotel at the corner of John R and Edmund in Detroit's Brush Park. It was turned into lofts in 2005.

Mooney, who moved out of his Ann Arbor apartment, said the visit led to a eureka moment.

"It just kind of spoke to me," he said. "The people I was surrounded with made me feel like this is home."

Mooney contacted a real estate agent who showed him some lofts at the Carlton. He said he will buy a place there on Aug. 16.

"It has a real industrial feel -- exposed brick, concrete floors, a fireplace, granite hardtop counters and stainless steel appliances," he said.

Mooney is among hundreds of young people choosing the city over the suburbs. They say they like the underground vibe of city dwellers who enjoy art, culture and a walkable community. They also want to join the movement to reinvigorate Detroit's neighborhoods near downtown.

And let's not forget about the good deals.

"There are lots of hidden gems and so much positive energy," said Mooney, who is also applying for jobs in the city so he can be in Detroit full-time. "It's a city but it's also a small town in terms of who you run into."

In Mooney's case, he found the place of his dreams for a price he couldn't refuse. The property, which previously sold for $270,000, was foreclosed after its owner passed away. He is buying it for $114,000.

Austin Black II, a real estate agent with Max Broock Realtors in Birmingham, said many of his clients who want to buy downtown are Michigan natives who left for other cities in their early 20s only to return with an itch for city living. Some are empty nesters from the suburbs who want to scale down from a large house. Others are new to the area.

Yet they all have one commonality: They want the urban experience.

That describes Black, too. While in college, the 27-year-old spent time in Washington, D.C., and later Rome.

When he returned to Michigan, the former Troy resident wanted to continue living the urban life.

Black began selling real estate in 2004. He simultaneously launched a Web site called www.citylivingdetroit.com as a way to tout the city's opportunities, its communities and the lifestyle.

He lives in what he calls a soft-loft in Midtown at the Ellington, a building on Woodward Avenue known for its Starbucks. He specializes in selling downtown Detroit properties, but said his preference is Midtown, which is surrounded by I-94 to the north, I-75 to the east and the south and the Lodge freeway on the west.

"You can walk to restaurants, museums; it's not far from downtown, and it's a vibrant urban neighborhood," he said. While crime is a deterrent to some buyers, Black said young people are not so bothered by the city's safety reputation.

"Younger people in particular have less of a fear of crime," he said. "They know that no matter where you are, it's a reality. They're more street smart about things. Plus, in Midtown we have two layers of police protection -- Wayne State and the Detroit Police Department."

Pricing is attractive, too.

Black recently sold a 4,000-square foot, three-story penthouse property with an outdoor terrace at the Book Cadillac for $1.1 million. A similar property in Birmingham would be several millions more, he added.

The biggest sales challenge is that lenders have more restrictions than they used to, which affects young professionals. Several years ago, lenders were requiring zero to 3% down. Now the norm is 10% to 15%.

Black got more creative. Nine months ago, he launched a monthly newsletter about what's going on downtown. It has 1,000 subscribers.

"It's not so much about real estate but about the lifestyle," he said. "It reaches more people and people pass it along to their friends."

Max Broock in Birmingham recently hired Black because the company wanted to be more involved in the downtown real estate scene.

"I live downtown, which is really important to my clients because I'm living that lifestyle," Black said.

Potential buyers are setting their sites on properties.

Stephanie Fries, 30, is renting a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Cadillac Square near Campus Martius as she saves to buy a place.

Fries, who grew up in Livonia, is now saving money to buy a place through the Graduate Purchase Assistance program, a state program tailored to help recent college graduates move to any of eight Michigan cities targeted for economic growth.

The program can help a recent graduate qualify for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2% lower than the going rate.

"At first I was buying into what people were saying that you couldn't live downtown, that I wouldn't be safe, that I'd get mugged, that I wouldn't find a place to park my car," she said. "But there's really nowhere I wanted to be but Detroit."

Jeannette Pierce, who runs InsideDetroit.org, became a city booster after returning to Michigan from a study abroad program in Spain.

Pierce, 27, is seeing an increased desire of people to live in cities.

"They are tired of housing that looks the same and not knowing neighbors ... they are ready for authenticity, culture and diversity."

Contact MARGARITA BAUZA at 313-222-6823 or mbauza@freepress.com.