Lincoln Park/Downriver Neighborhoods (Detroit, Dearborn: real estate, apartments, to rent)

[cardwellave]

I'm looking to move out of my Dearborn Heights home in the next few years and am considering a move to Downriver. It really seems like where everything is going on lately, lots of growth in Taylor and Southgate and surrounding areas. My main thought goes to Lincoln Park since the rent for apartments and costs of houses is so low (why rent when you could own one of these $20-30k homes?)

Anyway I know Downriver pretty well but I don't know how safe some neighborhoods are in particular. I love the houses and house prices in Lincoln Park around Outer Dr and Fort St and along Southfield near Fort St. Some of the neighborhoods around Fort Park Blvd and Montie Rd and also across Fort St with streets like Le Jeune St, Pingree Ave, Ethel Ave. I am wondering how safe of a neighborhood this is. In general it looks decent, though I do remember one time coming down Fort from Outer Dr and it looked a little Detroit-ish in that part of Lincoln Park, just really ramshackle and random characters wandering Fort St. I know Detroit does border there along Outer Dr.

I am also a big fan of Wyandotte which in general looks nice all around. Am I mistaken? I have been through Riverview and Trenton in parts and they, to me, are sort of eerie and twilight-zone-ish. What are these areas like?

My other thought is an apartment in Garden City, which I know about how safe that is. How comparable are these areas to Garden City and Dearborn Heights?

Thanks!

[Coldjensens]

Wyandotte and Trenton are both great communities. Wyandotte has a great downtown and a lot more going on. Trenton is more a small factory town. Not as much going on, smaller downtown, very quaint. I think that the original A & W is located there. Trenton has a great park (Elizabeth Park). Trenton is also very close to Erie Metropark. They are both reasonably safe cities. I think that most people lock their doors there, but crime does not seem to be a huge problem. We do all of our shopping in those two cities and Woodhaven and we have been out late and never felt at all uncomfortable. Most of the people that we know shop and dine there as well. Not a lot of news reports or people talking about crime there. I have heard complaints about excessive traffic enforcement being used to generate funds for the cities, but I heard that about Romulus and Taylor as well. Maybe people are just mad about getting a ticket.

Trenton has better schools, but that will not impact you. Wyandotte is considerably more exciting, but more urban. There are some great homes, condos apartments in Wyandotte along the waterfront.

I am not really sure where Riverview starts and stops. I do not really know anything about it except that we go in an out of it in places aroun Wyandotte and Trenton. I have never seen a place that could be called downtown Riverview. I think that it is all housing and some businesses scattered here and there.

I do nto know much about Lincoln Park. We go to a few stores there. It does not seem as nice as Wyandotte or Trenton, but it is not awful. Lincoln Park or Allen Park has a second run MJR movie theater that is only $1.50. It is reasonable nice.

[cardwellave]

I know Trenton looks fairly nice around their small downtown but it always seemed to be dead and strange to me, maybe it just happens to be when I came by. Along Fort St it looks alright, and I know there are tons of stores on Allen, West, King, etc in Woodhaven and Trenton in those parts, but they don't seem as quaint to me. I love Wyandotte, it is very quaint and I love the character of all the homes, though some areas around the railroad tracks I always wondered if they're really that nice. It also looks especially nice in the upper parts near Emmons Blvd but that always confused me since this part flirts with the Ecorse border.

Where do you live Coldjensens?

[Coldjensens]

Grosse Ile. Absolutely love it here. Safety is a non-issue here. Super safe. One of the best places to raise a family anywhere as far as I am concerned. Access and boredom are the biggest complaints that I hear. Also, it is small so everyone knows your business. That can be good or bad depending on your perspective. Some people complain about the cost, but there are homes and a few apts in nearly all price ranges.

Wyandotte is very neat. We considered living there and looked at a few houses several times, but we have children and wanted better and smaller schools, smaller town with less traffic, etc.
Some of those houses along the water are really awesome. The downtown is nice and lively and the park between downtown and the river is a great place to hang out. Lots of resdences with great character. Limited water access, but there is a city boat launch at either end of the town. There are some incredible bargains on houses there.

There are some problems. Not exactly sure what areas the problems come from. You can readily identify the less desirable areas. Wyandotte has pretty good access to the rest of the world. we have to drive through Wyandotte or through Trenton and Woodhaven in order to go anywhere.

You are probably aware that downtown Trenton is along Jefferson, not Fort. Fort is kind of a supplemental area. Trenton has not fully made the transtion from worn out to quaint, but they are well on their way. There are some great places in Trenton. Sibley's Hotel (which is supposedly haunted by the way) is a favorite watering hole. There are one or two other places that I cannot remember the name of but we go to once in a while. It is not really as walkable as Wyandotte because it is smaller and the downtown still has too many service businesses (instead of retail or dining) on the main drag. One of the big pluses of Trenton is Elizabeth park. It is also smaller and more controlled. Being small, it does not get as much traffic nor crime.

[cardwellave]

Grosse Ile is really nice, sort of odd considering the access bridge from Riverview is in the shadow of the McLouth Steel Plant, which has to be one of Downriver's biggest eyesores. I heard it was reopening though, do you know if it's operational again?

Wyandotte is still the most interesting place Downriver as far as I've seen. The only thing that bothers me is the bland street names in Wyandotte, which are all numerals and plants with the exception of 10 or so. I really get into stuff like that, but the street layout and naming is historical to the city, so that adds some interest. I also like the houses along Fort in Southgate too, very nice.

Where did you come from before you moved to Grosse Ile?

[trinkit]

If you're dead set on Lincoln Park, you would want to stay south of Southfield, closer to Wyandotte or Southgate. Historically, Southgate used to be part of Wyandotte YEARS ago. If I had my druthers, I would opt for Wyandotte close to Jefferson and close to the water. The houses along Emmons are awesome. I think of Wyandotte as a mini-Detroit, and not in a derrogatory way. It has it's beautiful Tudor-style homes (think Indian Village) and it's low-rent districts (think southwest Detroit or Delray). But it also has a beautiful, walkable downtown area.

Are you looking for a home to buy or an apartment to rent?

[Coldjensens]

We lived in CA for 18 years (Orange County). I grew up near South Lyon. Went to Wayne then U-M. Moved back here in late 2005. We spent a huge amount of time investigating various areas before we moved (about 2 years). Coming from CA, no place was really too expensive, so we were able to consider every city.

McClouth is not opened and as far as I know it is not re-opening. There was a plan to re-open but it appears that the guy behind that plan was a flake and that plan died (it was a stupid idea to begin with given the condition of the place). There was a plan to tear it down and build a park, a lagoon with a marina and shopping center and condos. That plan died when the people of Trenton voted down the $40 million millage needed to make it work. It probably would have died anyway given the housing crash.

For now, it just sits there. The car manufacturers store cars there from time to time. They started taking it apart for scrap some time ago, but that ended. It will probably sit there until it rusts apart. Personally, I will be glad to see it go. It does not make sense to put factories on primer waterfront real estate. Especially now that you can no longer just dump the wastes into the river.

Since the plant closed, the west side of Grosse Ile has slowly gotten nicer. It is getting competitive with the East side, but will probably never be equal. We live on the west side. It is nce becuase there is very little traffic. the downsides are being trapped between two bridges (limits sail boat use) and McClouth. To the south you also have the Edison plant which is a landmark, but not real pretty. McClouth does not bother us since we do not see it much unless we turn in that direction and peer through some trees, but it would be terrible for us if it re-opened.

[cardwellave]

Originally Posted by trinkit

If you're dead set on Lincoln Park, you would want to stay south of Southfield, closer to Wyandotte or Southgate. Historically, Southgate used to be part of Wyandotte YEARS ago. If I had my druthers, I would opt for Wyandotte close to Jefferson and close to the water. The houses along Emmons are awesome. I think of Wyandotte as a mini-Detroit, and not in a derrogatory way. It has it's beautiful Tudor-style homes (think Indian Village) and it's low-rent districts (think southwest Detroit or Delray). But it also has a beautiful, walkable downtown area.

Are you looking for a home to buy or an apartment to rent?

Is Lincoln Park that bad north of Southfield? Which parts of Wyandotte are more low-rent? (I assume nothing is as bad as Delray).

[cardwellave]

Oh and I am looking for either a real cheap <$30 home or an apartment or home or flat to rent, probably in a year or two.

[trinkit]

Lincoln Park north of Southfield is considered the low-rent district and has more of a southwest Detroit feel (in all ways) to it. The parts of Wyandotte that are considered low-rent are the ones near the railroad tracks. You just have to scope out the area and see what type of home you would want to live in. Generally, the closer you are to the water, the higher the price tag. At less than 30 grand, you're going to be in the lower rent areas which may be pretty run down. Have you considered a mobile home for that price? Double wides can be had for that -- used but in very good condition.