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New neighborhood:
Lofts at New Center, Detroit
March
30, 2003
BY JUDY
ROSE
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Project:
Lofts at New Center, 130 loft-style condos. Two floor
plans are both 1,280 square feet, about one-third
on the first floor and two-thirds on the second, in
a sweeping open space. Base prices are $149,900-$152,900,
depending on whether the sleeping space is left wide
open or divided into two bedrooms.
Place:
Detroit, on Woodward near Grand Boulevard, north end
of the New Center.
Appeal: Urban
lofts in a real urban location, fairly affordable.
Building echoes an early 20th-Century commercial structure
converted to lofts, but it is all new construction.
This will appeal to urbanophiles for whom watching
car lights on Woodward is as mesmerizing as freighters
on Lake St. Clair.
Base
price per square foot: $117-$119.
Included:
9-foot ceilings, air-conditioning, attached two-car
garage, carpet and vinyl flooring, one bath, open
kitchen with dishwasher and exhaust hood, big windows,
40-gallon water heater, landscaping and sprinklers.
Add-ons:
10-foot ceilings ($10,000), wood floors ($2,500-$7,000),
electric fireplace ($2,290), first-floor powder room
($2,990), 4- to 6-foot kitchen island ($895-$1,095),
sleeping-area closet ($590), end unit with extra windows
($10,000-$12,000), site premiums, such as on a courtyard
($3,000-$12,000).
Insulation:
A typical R13 walls and R30 ceiling.
Lot
size: No lot. Grass and landscaping at front,
balcony off bedroom.
Association
fee: $139 per month includes grounds, street
and exterior building maintenance, water, sewer.
Comment:
It's hard to resist spending money on extras shown
in the upgraded model, like the wood floors, kitchen
island and oak or iron stair railings. At $1,290,
finishing the first floor open space with carpet and
drywall seems like a worthwhile bargain.
Schools:
Detroit, MEAP scores about 41 percent below state
average -- a moot point, because parents of school-age
children are not the target buyer.
Taxes: Frozen at a low level for
12 years, because this is a neighborhood enterprise
zone. For that span, taxes would be roughly one-third
the amount due under Detroit's stiff total, which
is $67.69 per $1,000 of a house's taxable value. Here,
a $170,000 loft, with taxable value of $85,000, would
pay about less than $2,000.
Call:
313-962-1100, 11-6 daily.
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