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As rents and real estate prices continue to escalate in Detroit's trendy neighborhoods, Hamtramck -- a true melting pot of immigrants, hipsters and African Americans -- gains appeal as an alternative.
The commercial district is also making a comeback after experiencing a decline over decades in the town of about 22,000 people, Vickie Elmer writes in Crain's Detroit Business:
A comeback is underway with an array of shops and bars opening this year.
On the list are Wheelhouse Detroit, a bicycle shop that is scheduled to open a new location in Hamtramck in August, plus a pet supply shop, a photo gallery, a coffee shop and a garment maker that also will provide consulting to young designers.
"There's a sense of opportunity here," said Mayor Karen Majewski, who has lived in Hamtramck since the late 1980s. Three years ago, she bought a storefront on Jos. Campau and, after renovating it, opened Tekla Vintage two years ago.
Majewski tells Elmer that people in their 20s and 30s move to Hamtramck because it's "funky and cool and diverse," as well as affordable and walkable.
Rents are rising quickly in Midtown and downtown Detroit. So are real estate prices. A condo development around Selden and Cass in Midtown, which is expected to break ground in September, is asking $429,900 to $489,900 for two bedroom, two bathroom units, prices that would have been unheard of not so long ago.
