[Ode]

Has anyone noticed it lately? Every time I see it, I get sad. When it originally started going up it had so much potential, and looked to be a really nice house. Then the construction stopped, and no one ever took it over again. For whatever reason, the original owners walked away and left it, and the bank obviously didn't try too hard to get a new owner. It won't be long now before the shell starts collapsing. The roof has huge holes in it, you can see small trees growing out the windows, and the basement has got to be completely filled with water by now. The thing just stands there, reminding me of the sad state of affairs in Michigan in general. I wish whatever city or county or state officials with the power to do so would just order it bulldozed, if nothing else, for safety.

I still wonder what happened to make the owners walk away and leave it all those years ago. It was before the recession hit MI. Does anyone actually know?

[canudigit]

Nope, but I drive past it almost daily. We figure that it was either someone who unexpectedly lost their job, died, or got divorced. It is a pity, though, whatever the case, not to mention an eyesore. I wish someone would demolish it, but that would fall upon whomever owns it, and who knows who that might be? Monroe Co. doesn't have their public real estate records online anywhere, so you can't look it up unless you go to the courthouse in Monroe, something I don't have the inclination to do.

[Remisc]

What community is this house in?

[canudigit]

It is out in the country on a road that runs parallel to US 23 and lies just east of it. It is about halfway between Dundee and Milan, maybe around mile marker 20. It was going to be one huge house, probably at least 4,000 sq. ft., but it is just an empty, rotting shell that was never completed.

[Remisc]

Originally Posted by canudigit

It is out in the country on a road that runs parallel to US 23 and lies just east of it. It is about halfway between Dundee and Milan, maybe around mile marker 20. It was going to be one huge house, probably at least 4,000 sq. ft., but it is just an empty, rotting shell that was never completed.

I'll have to check it out next time I go to Cabela's. But, do you happen to have any pictures of it?

[Ode]

No photos, but you can't miss it really since it is very clearly visible from the freeway.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by Remisc

I'll have to check it out next time I go to Cabela's. But, do you happen to have any pictures of it?

No, I never thought of taking a picture of it but like the OP said, you can't miss it, it's right next to the expressway. It's been there for years, and I've always wondered why someone who could build a house that big would have built it, or at least started to build it, so close to a busy highway.

[michigan83]

I've noticed that house too! I only travel that stretch of road a few times a year, but the image of that house has really stuck with me. I drove by it with a friend of mine a few years ago and we still talk about "that house on the way to Ohio." That house is very symbolic of what Michigan has been through during the past decade.

[redford dude]

Just went down to Temperance for Christmas at relatives and passed that house. Seems like it's been there forever. Anyone know how long it's been like that?

[canudigit]

It's been there for years, long before Michigan's much publicized financial and employment woes of the past few years. I think it's been there for at least fifteen years, because our son, who is now nineteen, used to comment on it when we would go to Ann Arbor to take him to the Children's Hands-on Museum there.

I guess I don't see it as a symbol of what has happened in Michigan per se, or houses like this would be a much common sight and wouldn't attract as much attention as this house does. I think that already existing homes that are in foreclosure are better representatives of Michigan's recent economic woes. I see this house as more of a symbol of someone who thought they had a better income than they did biting off more than they could chew mortgage-wise and then not being able to pay the contractor, or someone's wife leaving them after the house was started, or, worst case scenario, someone dying in the midst of having a house built. Whatever the case, it's too bad, it's too close to the highway, and it is an eyesore.