The following appeared in the July 11, 2006 Detroit News.
New, old idea: House above job
Walled Lake live/work units open, Ferndale's being built; mixed-use concept is revived.
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News
FERNDALE -- Fashionable Ferndale hopes to meet the future by dipping into the past for what was once a routine practice -- shopkeepers living above their businesses.
Novi-based builder Terra Land Group is building several dozen live/work units in which the owners operate a business or storefront on the ground level while living in a condominium above.
"It's actually an old concept," said Aaron Tassell of Terra. "This is the way businesses used to operate. And if the response we are getting is any indication, these will sell out before they are built next November."
The concept allows business owners the luxury of virtually no commute. It is gaining in popularity: Walled Lake also has a live/work development. The Ferndale live/work block along Hilton, about a mile north of Nine Mile, is one of four planned in Ferndale, totaling 62 units, including lofts.
Changes in city ordinances over the last few months have made the mixed-use developments possible, said Ferndale City Manager Tom Barwin, adding that the city's 30-year-old master plan was less flexible regarding land use.
Developers see it as a way for home buyers to purchase both a storefront and a two-bedroom, two-bath home with a balcony and attached garage. The live/work units run from $219,000 to $230,000. Some two-bedroom lofts are priced at $169,000.
"For someone starting off in a business, this eliminates not only an expensive lease but also a $3-per-gallon commute," said Tassell, who credited Ferndale city officials with revamping ordinances to permit mixed use in several areas.
The Ferndale sites are still under construction, but 19 have already been sold at Walled Lake's Legato Point on Maple, which opened in July 2005. Among storefronts operating there are an architect, a hair salon, a satellite dish company and an antique shop.
For Claudia Knapp, who lives above Claudia's Hair Salon, it's "a dream come true." Knapp moved to the United States from Italy in 1984, went to beauty school and worked in several salons.
"I worked in a salon as a young teenager," Knapp said. "It was always my dream to have my own salon, but there was no way I could meet a lease of $3,000 a month. We were living in Wolverine Lake, a couple miles away, and one day stopped by here.
"I've been open for three weeks, and it's been mainly people seeing my sign and stopping in," Knapp said. "I'm getting a lot of walk-ins."
Knapp is being helped in her business by her two daughters, Lacey, 12, and Samantha, 20.
"If I go upstairs to have lunch, we just lock the door," said Samantha, who is the receptionist. "If we hear the bell ring, we just have to walk downstairs and open up."
Walled Lake live/work units open, Ferndale's being built; mixed-use concept is revived.
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News
FERNDALE -- Fashionable Ferndale hopes to meet the future by dipping into the past for what was once a routine practice -- shopkeepers living above their businesses.
Novi-based builder Terra Land Group is building several dozen live/work units in which the owners operate a business or storefront on the ground level while living in a condominium above.
"It's actually an old concept," said Aaron Tassell of Terra. "This is the way businesses used to operate. And if the response we are getting is any indication, these will sell out before they are built next November."
The concept allows business owners the luxury of virtually no commute. It is gaining in popularity: Walled Lake also has a live/work development. The Ferndale live/work block along Hilton, about a mile north of Nine Mile, is one of four planned in Ferndale, totaling 62 units, including lofts.
Changes in city ordinances over the last few months have made the mixed-use developments possible, said Ferndale City Manager Tom Barwin, adding that the city's 30-year-old master plan was less flexible regarding land use.
Developers see it as a way for home buyers to purchase both a storefront and a two-bedroom, two-bath home with a balcony and attached garage. The live/work units run from $219,000 to $230,000. Some two-bedroom lofts are priced at $169,000.
"For someone starting off in a business, this eliminates not only an expensive lease but also a $3-per-gallon commute," said Tassell, who credited Ferndale city officials with revamping ordinances to permit mixed use in several areas.
The Ferndale sites are still under construction, but 19 have already been sold at Walled Lake's Legato Point on Maple, which opened in July 2005. Among storefronts operating there are an architect, a hair salon, a satellite dish company and an antique shop.
For Claudia Knapp, who lives above Claudia's Hair Salon, it's "a dream come true." Knapp moved to the United States from Italy in 1984, went to beauty school and worked in several salons.
"I worked in a salon as a young teenager," Knapp said. "It was always my dream to have my own salon, but there was no way I could meet a lease of $3,000 a month. We were living in Wolverine Lake, a couple miles away, and one day stopped by here.
"I've been open for three weeks, and it's been mainly people seeing my sign and stopping in," Knapp said. "I'm getting a lot of walk-ins."
Knapp is being helped in her business by her two daughters, Lacey, 12, and Samantha, 20.
"If I go upstairs to have lunch, we just lock the door," said Samantha, who is the receptionist. "If we hear the bell ring, we just have to walk downstairs and open up."
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