Downtown Gold Coast Riverfront Co-ops / Condos (Detroit: renting, neighborhoods, to buy)

[St Petersburg On the Move]

Husband is recently retired and we are thinking of moving to a high-rise co-op or condo in Detroit. I've always wanted to live in a high-rise with a city view but we're a little nervous based on what we've read. We have found numerous units within our budget of $40k or less, but we have concerns.

Researching everything we can get our hands on to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding this area of Detroit. We just watched the video, "Detroit-Murder City." How relevant is this for these buildings: 8900 East Jefferson's River House, Spinnaker Tower, 1300 East Lafayette, 8200 East Jefferson's Shoreline East (etc). The Gold Coast area, I believe?

Also, old doesn't bother us as long as maintenance has been kept up. In fact, I prefer the character and architecture of older buildings. We need to find a place that allows small dogs. (I believe all the buildings above do). How safe are the immediate neighborhoods for walking, etc. Input from anybody with firsthand experience in any of these buildings (or this area) would be very helpful.

After we sell our condo here, we would be renting in Detroit while we looked for something to buy. We are originally from Toledo and would like to live closer to family. We are being priced out of Florida now that we are on a "limited" income.

Thank you!

[tabbcat]

8900 East Jefferson's River House/8200 East Jefferson's Shoreline East... I personally wouldn't live near Belle Isle. It's kind of seedy/ghetto in that area. They also don't look like particularly nice buildings and I certainly wouldn't feel safe walking around.

1300 East Lafayette... better area because it's closer to downtown, but not a particularly nice building. It's kind of old/grungy. Again, I probably wouldn't feel safe walking around here, but it's close.

Spinnaker Tower actually looks like a really nice building in a decent enough part of town.