City Modern at Brush Park, Detroit, Michigan

Less than two blocks away from historic Woodward Avenue, and just a 10-minute walk to Comerica Park baseball stadium, a major townhome and carriage home redevelopment is underway. Located in the historic Brush Park, a 22-block neighborhood located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, the 4.60-acre project property is prime real estate. PM Environmental, Inc. (PM) was retained to perform environmental consulting services for the project. 

The redevelopment property consists of 14 parcels and portions of an additional 14 parcels, which together tell the long and rich history of the neighborhood. Historical sources document that the property was developed residentially prior to 1891. By 1945, it had diversified into various commercial industries as well. PM identified previous uses of various parcels as Recognized Environmental Conditions (RECs) in a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), prompting further environmental assessments. These uses included several automotive garages, a gasoline dispensing station, a battery repair operation, a dry cleaner, and wood box manufacturing operation.  

To further assess environmental concerns, PM also conducted a Phase II ESA, Baseline Environmental Assessment (BEA), generated Documentation of Due Care Compliance (DDCC), and utilized Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to investigate the potential presence of orphan underground storage tanks (USTs) and/or hydraulic hoist reservoirs. 

Additionally, buildings from the project property were demolished at varying times between the 1950s and 2009. Construction debris and rubble raised environmental concerns and were identified for removal. Apart from four derelict Victorian mansions, the property stood as a vacant, urban prairie from 2009 until the ground-breaking of the redevelopment project in November 2016.   

The mixed-use redevelopment, which will be called City Modern at Brush Park, includes the renovation of the four Victorian mansions.  One of the mansions, the Ransom Gillis House, which had been built in the 1870s for dry goods merchant, Ransom Gillis, has already been restored and was featured on the home improvement show “Rehab Addict” on HGTV. 

City Modern will also include the construction of 20 residential buildings that include townhomes and apartments, creating a total of 410 residential units. The more than $100 million redevelopment is scheduled to be completed in 2020.