MichiganRadio

Vacant Detroit School Sees New Life ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Joel Landy started out his development career by buying a couple Victorian houses in Detroit in the late 1970s.

Some 30 years later, he now owns 2 blocks of property in a section of Detroit called the Cass Corridor. He also lives there. So when he saw an elementary school sitting empty in his neighborhood, he decided to buy it:

"I felt it was worth it because it was really an anchor in my community, and it was necessary to bring it back. So I bought the building, put up a sign on the building that said loft, studios, offices, storage."

Since then several artists have opened up studios inside. There's also a movie house called the Burton Theatre, an architecture firm and a couple retail spaces.

There are nearly 70 vacant school buildings available for sale or lease in Detroit.

Contact Jennifer Guerra at guerraj@umich.edu

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