By April 8, 2015 Read More →

Lakewood House Gets New Life on Mars (Photos)

1446 Mars Ave.The City of Lakewood, The Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), and LakewoodAlive partnered to find owner-occupants and developers to rehabilitate two vacant boarding houses (1446 Mars Avenue, 1436 Grace Avenue) in an effort to further strengthen our community’s historic neighborhoods.

See ‘Buy an Historic Lakewood, Ohio Home for $1’

Developer Darren Mancuso, Relief Properties, recently completed several hundred thousand dollars in renovations to 1446 Mars Avenue, converting a former 2,631 square foot, 13-bedroom boarding house into a single family home. Mancuso has created an open floor plan while retaining many historic elements including a coat tree, one set of pocket doors, original columns, a stain glass window, and more. This historic-modern approach will breathe new life into the former vacant home.

Today, Mancuso will join Mayor Summers, LakewoodAlive and DSCDO in celebrating the completion of this transformative project.

WHO:                   LakewoodAlive, City of Lakewood, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Org.

WHERE:               1446 Mars Avenue

WHAT:                 Ribbon Cutting and Self-Guided Tour

WHEN:                 April 8, 2015, 5:30-7:30 pm (ribbon cutting at 6:00 pm)

Additional photos from Relief Properties Facebook page:


Background

In 2012 the City of Lakewood purchased two boarding houses that had become burdensome to the community.  After exploring a variety of potential options for these large and unique structures, the City, with assistance from Lakewood Alive, developed a partnership with the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization to rehab the properties.

DSCDO has a successful history of converting vacant and abandoned buildings into neighborhood assets. Since 2008, the organization has engaged its partners to redevelop 130 vacant, foreclosed properties resulting in over $7 million in rehabilitated housing. Developers are vetted on both their finances and construction skills in order to insure a quality end product.

LakewoodAlive is 501(c)3 non-profit economic development organization that seeks to leverage its programs and partnerships to grow the local economy and further strengthen the community’s quality of life. The Housing Outreach Program connects homeowners to resources and educational services, facilitates volunteer labor to complete home repairs, administers a paint rebate program, and collaborates with non-profits to provide a range of housing services. This holistic, collaborative approach has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars being invested in the community to stabilize and improve the city’s aging housing stock while helping homeowners protect their biggest investment and ensure strong neighborhoods.

Homeowners can benefit from these services offered by LakewoodAlive:
·         Free weatherization services
·         A paint rebate program
·         Foreclosure counseling, first-time homebuyer, and financial literacy courses
·         Resident evaluations of local contractors, and tips for hiring a contractor
·         Review of estimates and home repair contracts
·         Information on financing options for home repairs

Posted in: Housing, Press Release

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