Southtown/Lavaca District (Detroit: houses, safe area, safe)

[Dtown]

I was in SA for the month of September and I was trying to scout out some neighborhoods. While I was there I really liked the Southtown/Lavaca district I had some questions about the area. The first question is about safety in the area? Is is someplace were my wife can go on a long run on her own and I don't have to be worried about her saftey. When I was down there it looked like a safe area but we are coming from Detroit so we have had to deal with issues like this in the past.
The second question is about the homes themselves. Given that they are historical districts does anybody know how strict they are on remodeling houses. When I drove through the neighborhood there were three or four properties that have been remodelded that have a more modern apperance. I was wondering if that is a possiblity on other houses down there or if they somehow found a loop whole in historical district rules just for those properties. Any other input or suggestions on this or similar neighborhoods around SA would be appreciated.