Six prominent architecture studios from across the United States have successfully completed the City Modern development in Detroit, marking the first major ground-up neighborhood built in the city since the 1980s. The ambitious project encompasses 23 buildings with 450 new residences and includes the restoration of three historic Victorian brick mansions in the Brush Park neighborhood.
The development spans an impressive 8.4 acres, covering one full block and an additional half-block across the street just outside of Downtown Detroit. Architecture firms Hamilton Anderson Associates (HAA), Merge Architects, Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA), Studio Dwell, McIntosh Poris Architects (MPA), and Christian Hurttienne all contributed to both the master plan and individual building designs throughout the neighborhood.
Developed by Bedrock and Hunter Pasteur, City Modern offers a diverse mix of housing options including market-rate, affordable, and workforce housing, as well as senior housing. The development features apartments, townhomes, carriage homes, and condominiums, along with retail spaces to serve the community. Twenty completely new buildings were constructed from the ground up, while three pre-existing Victorian brick mansions were carefully converted into modern housing units.
"City Modern is the first major ground-up neighborhood built in Detroit since the 1980s," said Bedrock founder Dan Gilbert. "We didn't just build housing, we rebuilt a community. What was once vacant land is now a mixed-income district with homes, businesses and public spaces."
Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) designed four distinctive mixed-use buildings positioned at the neighborhood's four corners, including the striking red metal-clad, geometric 320 Edmund Place and the stepped, wooden John R 2660 apartment building in the opposite corner. According to LOHA, these four buildings were specifically informed by "Detroit's urban palette" and feature cladding materials commonly found throughout the city, such as brick, wood, and metal.
All of LOHA's buildings were designed to tier downward to respectfully meet the heights of adjacent structures. "With sensitivity towards the historic buildings and low-slung character of the neighborhood, each of the buildings' massing steps down midblock to the height of the adjacent buildings," explained LOHA representatives.
The neighborhood's core features buildings designed by Bedrock, Merge Architects, Studio Dwell Architects, and HAA. Notable structures include twin pitched-roof buildings by Bedrock that are strategically positioned between the historic Victorian mansions on site. Merge Architects contributed rows of duplex-style homes that were inspired by what the studio describes as a "reimagination of a historic garage precedent."
Construction on City Modern began in 2016 with the development's affordable senior living building called the Flats, designed by HAA and located just outside the main development block. Prior to construction, the development parcels were largely vacant land, with only a few historic brick mansions remaining on the site.
The completed neighborhood now includes various commercial establishments to serve residents and visitors. These include a dental practice, an eatery, and the Brush Park Bodega, while additional retail spaces remain available for lease to future businesses.
This major development represents part of Detroit's broader urban renewal following the city's post-industrial decline that culminated in a bankruptcy filing in 2013. The project joins other significant developments in recent years that have focused on restoration and conversion of historic structures, including the Book Tower and The Shepherd arts center by PRO as part of the larger Little Village development. City Modern demonstrates Detroit's commitment to creating mixed-income communities that blend new construction with historic preservation while providing diverse housing options for residents across different income levels.
