We Bought a Building: Make Detroit Home's First Mixed-Use Property at 7 Mile and Livernois

After about a year of really hard work, Make Detroit Home has closed on our first mixed-use property in our favorite Detroit neighborhood: Bagley, very close to 7 Mile and Livernois.

This is a big moment for our small team. Our commitment to this community, and to raising up Detroit neighborhoods, is expanding substantially. We made it through many odds, plenty of unexpected problems, and more than a few moments when we were not sure how the story would end.

But we closed.

And now the real work begins.

A year of hard things

The past year was rough for a lot of reasons.

Our business name was stolen. Environmental reports on the buildings were not exactly ideal. Title issues prevented us from closing multiple times. And Detroit did what it does best: it threw unpredictable challenges at us.

Every time we thought we had reached the finish line, something else appeared.

That experience gave us even more respect for the people who take on difficult Detroit properties. Whether someone is buying a house in Detroit, restoring a family home, opening a business, or making a Detroit property investment, the process can require patience, creativity, and a willingness to keep going.

We know that feeling personally now.

What we bought

The main building is a brick, two-story structure with:

• Four residential units
• Two commercial units
• A third commercial space we discovered and are likely keeping as part of the two-unit commercial layout
• A basement in part of the building
• Original plaster that is in surprisingly good shape
• Multiple original tin ceilings
• A 21-car parking lot

To the right of the brick building is a currently grey, “white boxed” building that we also purchased. The utilities are on, the parking lot is ready for customers, and the space is fully ready to be built out.

The property as it stands today at 7154 W 7 Mile Rd. This is the starting point for the work ahead.

The property sits in a meaningful part of Bagley Detroit, close to the University of Detroit Mercy, Marygrove, and U of D Jesuit High School. We are also directly across the street from the Sherwood Forest Library.

For anyone exploring the area, our Bagley neighborhood guide is a helpful place to start. You can also learn more about nearby Sherwood Forest Detroit and the University District.

Bringing a difficult building back to life

We are committed to doing hard things. This building is a perfect example.

The brick building had a pretty major fire in 2013, back when it was a dentist’s office. A car ran into the building, starting the fire.

Don’t worry: we have the car’s headlight, and we plan to display it.

Thankfully, because of the poor construction methods used by the team that remodeled the building into a dentist’s office, the fire did not spread very far or reach the second floor.

The fire damage did remove about 30 feet of flooring where the Make Detroit Home headquarters will be. That is obviously a major project, but the rest of the building gave us some very good news.

Almost all of the original plaster is in great shape. The brick is doing its job. And we have been blessed with multiple amazing original tin ceilings.

We should be able to restore the majority of the building: minus the missing floor, of course.

Four dumpsters, ten truckloads, and a lot of dental records

Over the past week and a half, my homies and I have already removed:

• Four 30-yard dumpsters
• Approximately 4,000 pounds in each dumpster
• Fire debris
• Floating walls
• Old materials that unfortunately could not be saved
• About 10 truck and trailer loads of scrap metal

The amount of old dental records we found was insane.

Removing the scrap metal is helping the local economy and, hopefully, the environment. We have about one more dumpster to go before we can fully focus on the next phase of the project.

This kind of work is not glamorous. It is dirty, slow, and expensive. But it is also part of what neighborhood revitalization looks like in real life.

Before the pretty finished photos, there are gloves, dumpsters, sorting, hauling, and long days.

What comes next: food, coffee, and community

We have some pretty big plans, and we definitely need help accomplishing them.

We are looking for a breakfast restaurant

Immediately, we are looking for a qualified and interested restaurant operator to open a breakfast, and late-night breakfast, restaurant in the grey building.

This area needs more food for normal working people. We would love to see a place where people can grab breakfast before work, eat after a late shift, meet friends, or stop in after school.

And maybe there will be a Make Detroit Home hot dog special. We are not ruling it out.

The utilities are on. The parking lot is ready to hold customers’ cars. The space is fully ready to be built out.

If you know someone who would be a good fit, please send them our way.

Our dream: a great coffee shop

Next to the restaurant, our dream is to bring a really great coffee shop to the area.

We are hoping the restaurant operator can also provide prepared sandwiches and similar food for the coffee shop. We are totally open to the restaurant and coffee shop being operated by the same person.

There is an absolutely unbelievable tin ceiling in this space, and I am very dedicated to restoring it. The coffee shop build-out is not expected to be overly complex, and we believe the demand is very much here.

“Detroit’s living room”

Make Detroit Home’s headquarters is intended to be more than an office space for all of our madness.

We are planning to design it as the third space this community needs. I am affectionately calling it “Detroit’s living room.”

We are excited to host Lions games, craft nights, and any other events the community brings to the table. We want this to be a place where neighbors can spend time, share ideas, and feel welcome.

We also plan to support programming and kids’ literacy activities at the Sherwood Forest Library across the street.

This is the kind of space we believe neighborhoods need: not home, not work, but somewhere comfortable to gather in between.

Restoring the residential units

Of the four residential units, three are very large, over 1,000 square feet each.

We promise not to use any flipper grey to bring these bad boys back to life.

Our goal is to restore their character and make thoughtful improvements that respect the building. We want the apartments to feel connected to the history of the property instead of looking like every other rushed renovation.

We may consider using the smaller unit for Airbnb, or we may keep it available for clients with unique housing needs. It will be an ADA-accessible unit, which is pretty cool.

That flexibility matters. Detroit real estate does not fit into one simple category, and neither do the people who need housing. As a company that helps people buy, sell, renovate, and invest in Detroit homes, we want our properties to serve real needs.

The buyer love stories behind the work

The buyer love stories we hear are a major reason we keep doing this work.

We have watched people walk into an old Detroit home expecting to see problems and instead discover the first place that truly feels like theirs. We have seen buyers fall in love with original woodwork, wide rooms, historic details, and neighborhoods where they can build a future.

Those moments matter to us.

A building like this one can have its own love story, too. It may begin with a fire, damaged flooring, title problems, and dumpsters full of debris. But that is not where the story has to end.

The goal is to create a place where future residents, business owners, neighbors, and community organizations can build their own stories.

Building alongside Bagley

Our location puts us at the intersection of several important institutions and communities: the University of Detroit Mercy, Marygrove, U of D Jesuit High School, Sherwood Forest, and Bagley.

We will also be supporting the economy of the largest Black-owned business district in the country, which is primarily made up of small business owners who could always use more foot traffic.

That matters to us.

A successful Detroit property investment is not only about the building itself. It is also about what happens around it. More people visiting local businesses. More reasons for neighbors to stay nearby. More connections between institutions, residents, entrepreneurs, and community groups.

We want to be part of helping this neighborhood thrive.

That is why we are committed to bringing this building back from the dead.

Help us shape what comes next

We welcome advice, questions, and suggestions.

If you know a breakfast restaurant operator, late-night breakfast entrepreneur, coffee shop owner, or small businessperson who may be a good fit for this property, please tell us who you know.

And if you are thinking about buying, selling, renovating, or investing in Detroit, our team is here to help. You can learn more about our home-buying services, selling services, and property evaluation resources.

We really appreciate all of you continuing to support us by choosing Make Detroit Home for your real estate, construction, and plumbing needs.

We are proud of this next chapter, grateful for everyone who helped us get here, and really looking forward to being able to serve this community better.

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