Monday, October 06, 2003
Number 58-Oct. 6, 2003
1) Crunch Time Dept.: Get lawn signs; walk with a candidate
2) Comment: Dianne McKeon for commission
3) In interview, McKeon calls for Kulak ouster, blasts ‘contriving, conspiring’ on commission
4) Comment: Unappoint Kulak
5) Exodus resumes as planning staffer quits
6) Firm ready to occupy Jacobson’s space
7) Sewers won’t be on ballot
8) Comment: Weigh the sign ban with caution
9) Comment: A time to pass
10) Letter: Lanzetta’s time is up
11) Letter: Don’t fall for scare tactics; get specifcs
12) A touch of hipness in Birmingham: New development is priced to house the crowd that hangs out in this trendy suburb
THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
"Cast your vote for intelligence and reason"
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Birmingham Buzz # 58 -- Oct. 6, 2003
VISIT OUR HOME PAGE FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS:
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1) Crunch Time Dept.: Get lawn signs; walk with a candidate
2) Comment: Dianne McKeon for commission
3) In interview, McKeon calls for Kulak ouster, blasts 'contriving, conspiring' on commission
4) Comment: Unappoint Kulak
5) Exodus resumes as planning staffer quits
6) Firm ready to occupy Jacobson's space
7) Sewers won't be on ballot
8) Comment: Weigh the sign ban with caution
9) Comment: A time to pass
10) Letter: Lanzetta's time is up
11) Letter: Don't fall for scare tactics; get specifcs
12) A touch of hipness in Birmingham: New development is priced to house the crowd that hangs out in this trendy suburb
1) Crunch Time Dept.
Get lawn signs; walk with a candidate
Oct. 6, 2003
Buzz-endorsed candidates need your support!
Lawn signs are available for pickup or delivery.
Volunteers willing to walk their neighborhoods with candidates are also needed.
Lawn signs can be picked up during regular business hours at Christopher Longe & Associates Architects, 124 Peabody. Park at the old Shell station at Woodward and Maple; the office is the southernmost stucco and green-trim Shain Townhome across Peabody.
You can also phone (248) 258-6940 to request delivery, or send an email to info@bhambuzz.org
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2) Comment: Dianne McKeon for commission
Oct. 6, 2003
The Birmingham Buzz endorses Dianne McKeon for City Commission.
McKeon has come a long way since she was elected to her first term on the Commission four years ago. Back then, she ran on a virtual slate with commissioners Seth Chafetz, Russell Dixon and Dante Lanzetta. To her enormous surprise, she was the top vote-getter. It turned out to be the nudge she needed to slowly but surely over the next four years assert her independence.
Today, she runs in clear opposition to Lanzetta, and completely independent of the others. All are seeking re-election.
McKeon took a huge step in the right direction this week by courageously calling for the resignation or ouster of Planning Board Chairman Gary Kulak. She also courageously called a spade a spade when she noted the "disingenuous attitude" and "contriving, conspiring and collaborative decision-making" by Lanzetta, Chafetz and commissioners Donald Carney and Gordon Thornsby that is abundantly clear to anyone who watches the commission.
We haven't always agreed with McKeon, but her intentions lately are good, and her voting record of late has been reasonable. Her door is always open, and her attitude is always positive. She is unabashedly impressionable. We like that. It means she isn't dogmatic, and she's always open to a variety of viewpoints.
She and her husband, Jerry, are always out and about, and are champions of the central business district, in which they live.
With a second win behind her, McKeon should be able to approach her job with more confidence, and hone her leadership skills. She'll be able to do that if Dante Lanzetta is unseated, and she is freed of his overwhelmingly negative and intimidating influence.
The Birmingham Buzz urges you to vote for Dianne McKeon on Nov. 4.
3) In interview, McKeon calls for Kulak ouster, blasts 'contriving, conspiring' on commission
Oct. 6, 2002
Birmingham Planning Board Chairman Gary Kulak should resign from office or face removal, City Commissioner Dianne McKeon says.
In addition, "contriving, conspiring and collaborative decision-making" by certain members of the Commission "is taking its toll on our town" and has made the city a "laughing stock" in some professional circles.
"I have asked the city manager to seek the advice of our city attorney on how Mr. Kulak can be removed. Of course, if Mr. Kulak wants to resign, that would also be acceptable," McKeon told the Buzz in a wide-ranging interview.
McKeon is seeking re-election to the Commission.
"During the early part of my first term, a name surfaced for consideration on the Planning Board that earned my vote," McKeon said. "In retrospect, it was the wrong decision. Mr. Kulak is in my view out of control. Supported by others, including some on the current commission, Mr. Kulak treats citizens, staff and others with total contempt and disrespect. His only interest is to gain total control over all aspects of building and development in our city. He is attempting to accomplish this by micro-managing the Planning Department and the unnecessary re-drafting of many of our ordinances."
"As evidence, once again a member of the Planning Department staff is leaving," McKeon said, referring to the late-September departure of part-time planner Kelly Mathews. "If every Birmingham resident knew the kind of day the employees in this department spend, they would be outraged. They are constantly wasting time on special reports or projects demanded by some commissioners and committee members," McKeon said.
"I am really tired of the disingenuous attitude of some members of the commission and their perception of what is good for Birmingham. Contriving, conspiring and collaborative decision-making is taking its toll on our town. In certain professional circles we are a laughing stock. We cannot keep staff, and building applicants are compromising their plans to avoid the Planning Board," McKeon said.
"In my 27 years of living in Birmingham, I've seen the pendulum on the commission swing dramatically in both directions, and neither direction is healthy. Whatever your personal interests are, or the agenda you bring to the table, failure to consider the suggestions and arguments of others ultimately cheats part of the community. My promise is to listen and learn and then base my votes on the merits of each individual situation. Our city is so many different parts - all good, and all why we live here. Balancing these parts by making good decisions is a commissioner's job," McKeon said.
"I have recently been asked what changes in positions and issues I've made since the last election," McKeon said. "The answer is simply, none. Since the day four years ago when I made up my mind to run for a seat on the city commission, I have been keenly interested in both neighborhood and downtown issues and have, and will continue to make decisions based on the merits of the facts and discussions that ensue. I absolutely do not have any other agenda. I am not aligned with any other commissioners to place certain individuals on the various boards or commissions; I do not meet with other commissioners between meetings and show up at the commission meetings with my mind made up."
"Keeping a good balance with the varying interests requires fair and open minded-decision making. I pledge to do that as a voice of reason on the commission. There are probably less than one hundred residents really active with the issues. If taxpayers knew of the micro-management by some commissioners and board members, they would be repelled by the foolishness and embarrassed with the results," McKeon said.
"Could our staff oversight be better? Of course! But when you traditionally operate with a lean staff and numerous special projects interrupting your week, you have a recipe for failure. And it seems that is precisely what the detractors are looking for as a reason to dismiss key staff members or to discourage longevity."
On the Orangeburg sewer issue, McKeon said, "Now, 50 years later, it's evident that Orangeburg was not a long-term solution. We all wish we could reverse the decision made 50 years ago. Moving forward to determine who is responsible for the replacement cost is a high priority with me. This is a heavy financial burden, and it must be fairly handled. As a homeowner, I certainly would not want to be faced with the cost. As a city commissioner, I must ask, if the city financially assists the affected homeowners, how is the cost to be spread over all taxpayers and residents?"
On Birmingham's finances, McKeon said, "Birmingham's financial picture is reasonably good, as we enjoy a Triple-A bond rating. While many factors go into the investment decision-making process, the bond rating is often the single most important factor. This rating is in a large part due to our city manager's diligence in managing our budget and controlling our expenses."
"However," she said, "I would like to see the city operate more cautiously. There are a number of projects or studies where we have spent too much and have too little to show for it. Shain Park is certainly a good example. We always seem to find the money to hire the next consultant or conduct the next study. I will continually question these requests and work diligently to foster millage reductions each budget year. We need to regain confidence by spending more prudently. Sidewalks to nowhere and $500,000 studies to photograph every home in Birmingham must not be allowed to happen."
McKeon, a frequently seen face downtown, concluded: "It is so unproductive to pit neighborhoods against our downtown interests. Our downtown business owners and merchants live in the neighborhoods and our residents shop in our downtown. It takes both to make Birmingham the community it is. So whatever your interest I will respect it with an open mind and a fair hearing. Together, we can work, shop and live in Birmingham with a great sense of pride and accomplishment."
4) Comment: Unappoint Kulak
Oct. 3, 2003
We've heard rumblings that city staffers and even a few top elected and appointed city officials are joining the calls from residents and others for the removal of Gary Kulak from the Planning Board.
Kulak, the board chairman, rules with an iron fist. In the contempt he shows for those who appear before him, and for the city staff on whom he depends, he mimics his mentor and chief backer, Commissioner Dante Lanzetta.
Perhaps worse than his rudeness, however, is Kulak's abuse of power. At every turn, he seeks to obstruct reasonable people seeking reasonable approvals for reasonable projects. There was a day in Birmingham when a petitioner could show up before the Planning Board and get a fair hearing. Nowadays, under Kulak, no sane petitioner appears without high-priced attorneys and architects in tow. Owners of the dilapidatd Waterfall project had to wait more than two years for final approval for their project. Respected Birmingham restaurateur Norm LePage had to likewise go through more than two years of hell before Kulak before obtaining final approval for a new banquet hall adjacent to his landmark Big Rock Chophouse -- a project that was widely and frequently supported by residents of the adjacent neighborhoods.
Kulak, who lacks any experience or skills relevant to his position, is one of the chief reasons why property owners find it so incredibly difficult to do business with the city. When your taxes rise because the city's tax base hasn't kept pace with rising costs, you'll know whom to blame. Kulak has chased away more investment in Birmingham than any other single person. Pretty good feat for a guy who doesn't own any property in Birmingham, and so bears none of that tax burden himself.
Reasonable cause exists for Kulak's ouster. We don't relish the messiness involved in removing him from office (well, OK, we admit it; it might be interesting to watch), but sometimes government requires us to do unpleasant things.
Of course, Kulak could resign and save everyone the trouble...
5) Exodus resumes as planning staffer quits
Oct. 3, 2003
Another member of the Birmingham city planning staff has resigned. Kelly Mathews, a part-time planner who had been with the city for little more than a year, resigned her position effective Sept. 25. City Manager Tom Markus said Mathews focused on site plan reviews and research, as well as day-to-day service work.
Mathews (who says she took a full-time position on the planning staff in Brighton Township, which is much closer to her home in Ann Arbor), brings to four the number of city planners who have resigned since the appointment of Gary Kulak to the chairmanship of the Birmingham Planning Board. She joins Community Development Director Patricia McCullough, and city planners Keith Edwards and Jill Bahm, all of whom resigned in the past two years.
Mathews' work brought her into occasional contact with Kulak, who has been sharply criticized by petitioners, city staffers and members of the public for rudeness and obstruction of projects before the Planning Board.
In an April letter to Markus, Louis Dortch Jr., president of Qdoba Mexican Grill, said, "I have attended dozens of planning, zoning and other types of municipal meetings over the years, and I have never been treated with such contempt and antagonism. Mr. Kulak seems to enjoy using his position to deride people seeking approval for their given project. His treatment of the local businessman or resident is only outdone by his deplorable abuse of the City of Birmingham staff," Dortch wrote.
"Ms. Jana Ecker and Ms. Kelly Mathews are both competent and enjoyable people to work with. Mr. Kulak treated each of these city employees with little respect, even though each had done their job," Dortch wrote.
Markus declined to comment on reports that city staffers and other high elected and appointed offcials are joining the call for Kulak's ouster. Kulak, who lacks experience in city planning, architecture or any building trades, was reappointed to the Planning Board this past spring after being nominated by his mentor, Commissioner Dante Lanzetta.
6) Firm ready to occupy Jacobson's space
Oct. 2, 2003
>From the Birmingham Eccentric
By Larry Ruehlen
The local business climate just got a big boost, said Ted Fuller, the developer who just signed advertising agency McCann-Erickson to a long-term lease for the former Jacobson's building at 336 W. Maple.
"It think it's good for the whole town," said Fuller. "It will bring a tremendous amount of well-paid consumers to Birmingham."
Fuller ruled out a retail component for the building, which is currently being transformed from the former retail anchor of the downtown to a modern office building. He said the agency will occupy the entire 102,000-square-foot building so there will be no room for retail shops.
McCann-Erickson is relocating after 25 years in Troy. Garry Neel, executive vice president, said the move is necessary due to recent growth of the agency and the expiration of its lease at the Top of Troy building at 755 W. Big Beaver Road.
The company will move more than 300 employees in late 2004, after the former Jacobson's building is given a face-lift and new interior.
"The goal of this move is to provide a more dynamic work environment," said Neel, in a prepared statement.
McCann-Erickson investigated a variety of locations around metro Detroit, searching for a site that provided a desirable atmosphere without sacrificing its close proximity to local clients or incurring a sizable cost increase. In comparison to the other locations investigated, the Birmingham site offered McCann the best combination of affordability and overall appeal, said company officials.
The agency has several large, local clients including Buick Motor Division and Kroger Supermarkets. McCann-Erickson WorldGroup is the world's largest multinational advertising agency system, with operations in 131 countries.
7) Sewers won't be on ballot
Oct. 2, 2003
>From the Birmingham Eccentric
By Larry Ruehlen
The deadline to call a Nov. 4 referendum on sewer laterals came and went without action from the Birmingham City Commission.
Birmingham City Commissioner Dante Lanzetta, Jr. said on Aug. 25 that he would "personally be in favor of getting this on the ballot as soon as possible." And Birmingham City Clerk Nancy Weiss said she could add it to the ballot if the commission gave her time to get the ballots printed.
That meant the commission had until Sept. 22 to approve ballot language, but the topic wasn't discussed at recent city meetings. Lanzetta said he didn't call for a vote because he was waiting to see the results of a study now being conducted by a joint committee of residents and city officials.
The committee is studying how other communities handle repairs and looking for a way to finance repairs without raising city taxes.
Also balking at the idea of a public referendum is the group of residents who asked the city to help pay for repairs in the first place.
Weiss said adding the question to the November ballot would cost an extra $12,000. Having a special election would cost thousands more.
Sewer laterals are failing all over town and residents have had to pay in the $10,000 range for repairs. The city started a program to cut the cost of repairs in half, but some residents have demanded more. They want the city to chip in and cover part of the repairs - a switch in policy that would cost the city millions of dollars.
8) Comment: Weigh the sign ban with caution
Oct. 2, 2003
>From the Birmingham Eccentric
It may not seem like a major issue, but the city's plans to ban most pole signs should be considered carefully, for it can have implications that go far beyond the nearest street corner.
The city is weighing giving merchants up to the year 2010 to remove all pole signs. The city had passed an ordinance in 1999 to forbid the signs, but grandfathered in existing signs, assuming they would disappear through attrition.
That hasn't happened and doesn't seem likely to anytime soon, so the city is putting pressure on merchants to get the signs down. Certain exceptions would be made for signs deemed "historic," such as the longstanding Alban's sign on Woodward. That's commendable, but already has raised the issue of setting a precedent by allowing exceptions.
The city should reconsider the entire sign ordinance.
The trend in recent years is for businesses to have flat signs on buildings. Overhanging signs and pole signs are falling out of favor. There are a number of reasons for this, including aesthetics - not that there is anything particularly aesthetic about the bland flat building signs. These signs, in fact, more closely resemble shopping mall store signs - and that is something the downtown business certainly should not want to emulate.
But bright signs in a business district can add charm to the street scene. They key is to ensure they are designed tastefully and, most importantly, maintained properly.
>From the 1940s through the 1960s, downtown areas used to glow with neon signs that added brightness and a sense of life to the business scene.
Downtown Birmingham is a pretty bustling place theses days, especially at night, but about the only glowing sign is at the Birmingham Theatre. We would not recommend a wholesale proliferation of overhanging signs, and perhaps they should be confined to the principal shopping district area, to make it stand out.
Downtowns need to establish and maintain their own identities and do whatever they can to present themselves as special places.
Birmingham needs to stand apart, not blend into every other shopping district.
9) Comment: A time to pass
Oct. 2, 2003
>From the Birmingham Eccentric
The city commission wisely chose not to turn the reappointment of three members of the Birmingham Principal Shopping District board into an issue.
The appointment of Jayme Leib Kirschner, Cheryl Daskas and Geoffrey Hockman had been lingering for months. The commission has not had the best relations with the PSD, dating back to the last city election when some members of the PSD placed campaign signs supporting opponents of some commission members in their store windows.
At one point, Commissioner Don Carney said the PSD needs some new blood and he wanted to see some new faces on the board. Actually, he has a point. Some of the PSD members have been on since its inception about 10 years ago. It could use an infusion of new blood to bring some new ideas.
But at this stage, just a month before the election, any move to block the appointments was bound to seem political. As Carney said at the commission meeting last week, "There is a time and place for debate and a time and place to pass, and this is the time and place to pass."
He was quite correct.
10) Letter: Lanzetta's time is up
Oct. 2, 2003
In his e-mail screed to the Eccentric announcing his intention to seek re-election, Commissioner Dante Lanzetta cited a need to finish the job as a reason for seeking re-election. His position on who should vote to authorize a Birmingham bond issuance to pay for citizens' sewer lateral replacements is, therefore, puzzling.
Commissioners are elected to make hard decisions, not popular ones. So, one wonders how this Lanzetta-conceived and -endorsed buck-passing would benefit him.
On the one hand, if a commissioner were to vote for a bond issuance, he or she could be seen as a budget-busting, appeasing spend-and-tax hostage of a small special interest group.
On the other had, if a commissioner were to vote against a bond issuance, he or she could be seen as a heartless, small print-obeying, technicality-abiding, foe of the neighborhoods.
A third position, or a variation thereof, is to allow the city to develop at its natural evolution, upgrading the commercial and residential neighborhoods, in turn increasing the city's tax base and revenues without raising the tax rate on homeowners. This type of solution, however, apparently is anathema to Mr. Lanzetta and his followers, who resist change, however positive.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Mr. Lanzetta proposes this buck-passing in order to actually avoid being on record in addressing the sewer lateral problem. To do so could be bad for the candidate who constantly claims to try to "win one for the neighborhoods" (as if any Birmingham commissioner or candidate in its history ever opposed the neighborhoods), and who had the lowest winning vote total the last time he stood for re-election.
If, instead of solving the sewer lateral problem, Commissioner Lanzetta is only thinking of ways how to avoid taking a stand on it -- ostensibly to avoid alienating his claimed core of neighborhood-centric voters before the election -- then why is he running for re-election?
Mr. Lanzetta, in his letter to supporters, shamelessly misappropriates many contributions by others to the city during his tenure. He also has had that same 18 years to help solve, or at least identify, the sewer lateral problem.
I suggest that his time is up.
Lex Kuhne
Birmingham
11) Letter: Don't fall for scare tactics; get specifcs
Oct. 2, 2003
As the race for city commission heats up, I am certain that Birmingham voters will understand that the issues we face are not all black and white, and that they will be wary of anyone who says they are. Some candidates (and even the Eccentric) might paint as black and white the issues of this coming election: Development vs. anti-development, or neighborhoods vs. downtown.
That is a disguise intended to divert your attention from real, complex issues, such as the maintenance of city services while controlling taxes, the process of local government, the needs of our infrastructure, or the future of our parks. Honest and direct debate on those complex issues isn't negative campaigning - in fact, it is the only way voters will know where a candidate stands. Simplistic slogans may scorn as "pro-development" those folks who just understand that "times change," that reasonable and controlled evolution should be allowed.
Unfortunately, some leaders and candidates are so fundamentally ANTI-development, that they speak and act against any viewpoint that accommodates any development at all. Individual property rights, even of those who live in neighborhoods, apparently count for little. Yet, you may hear some candidates suggest that they stand for "Neighborhoods First."
Their scare tactics claim an epic struggle between our neighborhoods and our downtown. Baloney. There is no monolithic "Downtown" entity or outside enemies against which neighborhoods are pitted. We who live in the neighborhoods want our downtown to be pedestrian friendly and safe, for we use and enjoy its services. A successful downtown contributes to a healthy tax base. Black-and-white arguments are usually rhetorical, occasionally contain innuendo and almost always lack specifics. In this election season, do not trust black and white "truths." Reject rhetoric, fluff and innuendo. Demand specifics. Anything less may lead to a Birmingham city government we do not deserve.
Scott D. Moore
Birmingham
Moore is a candidate for City Commission.
12) A touch of hipness in Birmingham: New development is priced to house the crowd that hangs out in this trendy suburb
Sept. 28, 2003
>From the Detroit Free Press
By Judy Rose
The last big piece of land with an exclusive Birmingham address is being developed as dense, hip, urban housing aimed at the young and the childless.
The 116 units at Eton Street Station will be row townhouses, artisan lofts and today's new buzzword -- live-work units. These let small entrepreneurs live over their business.
This 10 1/2-acre project fills Birmingham's biggest void. Here, much of the culture is young and swinging, but most homes are vintage and high-maintenance.
At night, when younger shoppers and diners go home, Birmingham residents, at 39.3 years old, are almost 3 years older than the rest of Oakland County and almost 7 years older than Michigan's median age.
What's more, the high cost of business space has forced small start-up businesses to seek cheaper digs, as in Ferndale.
"When you look at Birmingham today, it's becoming a 24-hour town," said Bernie Glieberman, CEO of Crosswinds Communities, which designed and is building Eton Street Station.
"In a 24-hour town, you need the kind of residents we're attracting -- that single person or childless couple who do have a lot of nightlife."
The prices -- stiff by many towns' standards -- are pegged for prosperous young Birmingham buyers -- the $250,000s to the $350,000s.
For Birmingham, $150 per square foot is actually a bargain. In the city's conventional house market, $250,000 usually buys a modest 1950s bungalow of 1,100 square feet.
But the first model at the development, which opened on Friday, is a flashy four-story townhouse, 2,100 square feet, including a trophy kitchen with granite countertops.
The location is the last big piece of vacant land in Birmingham -- 10 1/2 acres that used to hold an Erb Lumber yard, now moved to Macomb County.
"It's the last frontier in Birmingham," said Mayor Seth Chafetz.
31 of 49 sold already
Proof of Birmingham's pent-up demand for middle-price, urban housing comes from Eton Street's sales. Right now, the site is mostly bare dirt and a chain-link fence. The townhouse model opened just a little more than a week ago.
But at a base price of $319,900, buyers already have snapped up 31 of the 49 townhouses.
"More than half the first phase is sold and we're just having our opening party," said sales manager Chris Arvanites.
"Maybe we'll have our closeout party next."
Brigett Super and Chris Bouschet will be married Oct. 11. Three weeks ago, they bought a townhouse here, although it won't be ready till January and it cost more than they'd planned to spend.
"We saw an ad in the paper, and thought it was out of our price range" said Super. "Then we actually drove by and went in, and we loved it so much we knew where we had to live."
Enough so that they'll continue living with parents after their wedding while they wait for their townhouse to get done.
For fans of mass transit, Eton Street Station is directly next to Birmingham's Amtrak stop. So residents can catch a train to Detroit, Ann Arbor or Chicago.
Maybe best of all for the young or unencumbered is freedom from yard and maintenance chores.
Frankie Caruso owns three Birmingham boutiques: the Ritz, Caruso Caruso and Frankie and Debbie's. A single empty-nester with grown three children, he doesn't care that the townhouse has no back yard.
"I'm more interested in partying inside than what's outside."
For two years, Caruso said, he'd looked for a house in Birmingham. But under $500,000, he couldn't find a house that didn't need extensive remodeling.
He won't mind when the trains rumble through, Caruso said. "I find them very soothing.
"Now if I need to do business in Chicago, I can walk out my front door and board the train."
Far out for its time
Eton Street Station has been 7 1/2 years in the making. It was early 1996 when lumber magnate Fred Erb offered the land in a dramatic sealed-bid auction. Big-name developers competed not just on price, but on the appeal of their plan.
Crosswinds Communities' winning plan was far out for its time. Back then few had heard of live-work units.
Today they've become the hot ticket for small business folks. Not only can owners live over the store, they can build equity in their work space rather than pay rent to a mall or warehouse.
At a similar large new live-work development in Shelby Township, early buyers include a Web designer, an attorney and a trade show organizer.
Crosswinds' 17 other projects in southeast Michigan include live-work units in downtown Brighton and the 500-unit Woodward Place at Brush Park -- glamorous Detroit townhouses just north of Comerica Park.
This Eton Street area, just south of Maple and east of Adams, has been dubbed Railtown, because its eastern boundary is Canadian National Railway tracks.
A row of high-tension electrical wires follows the tracks.
Railtown is a mix of small 1950s houses, light industry, small commercial buildings, service shops like a hair salon as well as two restaurants -- the upscale Big Rock Chop House and the little Whistle Stop, whose homemade cakes, pies and lemon bars have an avid following. Soon Eton Street will start construction on three-story artisan lofts and the live-work units. They'll be ready for owners next summer. Earlier plans to sell carriage houses in the high $100,000s have been dropped.
Eton Street Station now has a model open for Phase 1 -- townhouses. Hours are 11-6 daily.
For more information call 248-258-8887 during model hours. To see a site plan, visit http://www.crosswinds.com.
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