Wow, this is really pretty cool. The density and contemporary design remind me of something you'd see in Philly. I love the New York-esque planning with multi-family buildings on John R and Brush, and smaller homes on the side streets. Plus the mid-block pedestrian walk is pretty nice, and the woonerf design for the alleys.
From a real estate perspective - not sure this development will work. If I'm in the market for a home, why would I pay a new-construction premium to get a townhouse or mews house with literally no yard when I could buy an
actual detached house with a decent sized backyard for the same price, and maybe even the opportunity to buy vacant lots next door?
Of course, urban Detroit is a strange and uncharted real estate market. Maybe the market doesn't place a premium on breathing room in a city with so much open space, and yawning wide open streets. Maybe the contemporary design and location will lure wealthier buyers that would have bought in the suburbs otherwise.
University/hospital employees, downtown workers, hell, even younger buyers with suburban jobs that don't want to live on a cul-de-sac.
So far, that formula has worked for rental developments in Detroit where people expect to live for a certain phase of life. But a for-sale development, which I assume the townhouses will be, requires a whole different strategy. You have to sell buyers on the long-term value, and those buyers have to somehow get financing for the purchase from banks that are probably reluctant to lend in a highly distressed area such as this.
I'm not saying these will doom the project, but I would love to see how the development team is planning to work around these challenges...