A Glimmer of Hope for Detroit

I was born and raised in Detroit. I grew up on the Northwest side in a neighborhood called Rosedale Park. With all the doom and gloom you hear on TV about Detroit, I just wanted to point out a spark of light and positivity that I know about.

My brother-in-law works at the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) in Detroit. The GRDC is a non-profit organization working to improve and revitalize the Grandmont and Rosedale neighborhoods of Northwest Detroit. They manage programs to renovate vacant houses and help local homeowners and businesses keep the neighborhood safe and vibrant. They also offer down payment assistance if the homeowner is purchasing a newly renovated home from GRDC and the home is going to be owner-occupied.

They are not your typical developer. This organization has been run by local residents for the last 20 years. They not only help you get into a beautifully renovated home in a historic Detroit neighborhood but they will be your neighbor. They have a vested interest in improving the neighborhood because they live there as well. I think the work that the GRDC does is wonderful and inspiring. If you’d like more information on this organization please visit their website, http://www.grandmontrosedale.com .

Another glimmer of hope for Detroit can be found in an article I was given the other day. The article “Turnaround Towns for Q2 2013” posted on realtor.com® listed the top 10 cities in the US that have seen improvement in their real estate market the second quarter in 2013 (as compared to this same time last year). The indicators they used were inventory, median list price and number of days on market. Surprisingly, with all the negativity you hear on the news, Detroit was ranked number 7.

The article states “Although Detroit just filed for bankruptcy, the area’s housing market has been putting up numbers that bode well for the future of the city. Median list prices on realtor.com® are 37.8 percent higher in the second quarter of 2013 than the same period one year ago, while inventories are down 26.5 percent. The market’s median age of inventory is just 45 days, down 25 percent from the second quarter in 2012.” http://www.realtor.com/news/turnaround-towns-for-q2-2013/

Of course Detroit has a very long road ahead and the problems that led to its current condition are much more involved than you’ll hear on the news. A lot of my family still resides in Detroit so I thank organizations like the GRDC and many other new and hopeful businesses (and older businesses as well) for the positivity and improvement they provide. Even though I don’t live in the city anymore I’ll never stop rooting for Detroit.