Ferndale

Further developing downtown Ferndale

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

FERNDALE — Though the first few blocks of West Nine Mile Road still make up downtown Ferndale’s main hub, residents and visitors may soon find themselves looking east for new places to eat, study, hang out and be entertained.

With a number of new business openings, construction projects and renovations either under way or on the horizon for the second half of 2008 and 2009, city officials are looking forward to seeing updates to an area that many feel has stagnated in recent years.

“It’s great,” said Cristina Sheppard-Decius, executive director of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority. “It’s always been part of our long-range vision to extend our downtown onto East Nine Mile. We want to re-densify the area and see activity on both sides of Woodward (Avenue).”

Near the end of summer, construction will begin on the Ferndale Public Library’s expansion and improvement project, which will not only increase the library’s physical size, but also modernize it in hopes of creating a facility for residents of all generations to gather, learn and socialize.

As early as November, the three-story Lofts on 9 building — containing 32 one- and two-story lofts ranging from 920 to 2,100 square feet — is scheduled to open its doors to the public.

The old Secretary of State building at 261 E. Nine Mile Road has been purchased and will be soon renovated into a comedy club, Go Comedy Improv.

The Detroit-area law offices of Foley & Mansfield will be moving this summer from their current offices in Bingham Farms to the old schoolhouse at 131 E. Nine Mile Road.

In addition, the Jeffries Baptist Church, located at 165 E. Nine Mile Road, has been emptied out and may soon be converted into either a restaurant or banquet hall.

However, there is one deal that seems to have fallen through, at least for the time being: the city’s purchase of the Oakland Livingston Human Service building at 345 E. Nine Mile Road, which was in the works to become Ferndale’s new 43rd District Courthouse.

Still, city officials, business owners and residents are happy about all the positive steps that have been taken. And as City Manager Bob Bruner pointed out, the development has been a work in progress for longer than people might expect.

“The seeds that have been sown in the last 10 years or so are now bearing fruit,” he said. “West Nine Mile has been revived, and that success has spilled over onto East Nine Mile. … Ferndale continues to be a little hub of activity and a place where people want to be.”

Mayor Craig Covey agrees. “There’s major excitement on East Nine Mile right now, and it’s nice to see development happening despite the economic conditions,” he said.

Covey said he was especially excited to see the expanded library and the completed Lofts on 9 building. “The library is going to be stunning,” he said. “It will be more than just a library — it’s going to be a community center. … With Lofts on 9, four months ago (that area) was an empty brownfield. It’s really going to change the way the downtown looks.”

Adam Wolfson, developer of Lofts on 9 and a Ferndale resident, believes the changes could have a huge effect on the way metro Detroiters think about downtown Ferndale. He thinks the city is moving closer to having “a secondary downtown community to Detroit” on par with Royal Oak and Birmingham.

“This whole side of Nine Mile is being revitalized,” he said. “People already know about all the things happening on the west side, but they don’t usually think about the east side.”

When he moved to Ferndale three and a half years ago, Wolfson quickly discovered that the city “had all the makings of a nice, safe, walkable community. It has all the elements: a vibrant nightlife, lots of young people, restaurants, theater. It’s a very eclectic community.”

Nearby business owners are also excited. Brian McNamara, general manager of Italian restaurant Como’s — located at the corner of East Nine Mile and Woodward — said he is “ecstatic” to see so many new neighbors setting up behind him.

“The more things happening around here, the better,” he said. “The more people that move in, the more customers we have.”

Although most of the major changes are not happening until later this year or in 2009, Covey is expecting an immediate impact on downtown Ferndale. “I think you’ll see traffic increase exponentially this summer,” he said. “There will be a very noticeable uptick in activity.”

Sheppard-Decius said the city is also looking at constructing a parking structure sometime down the road. Until then, though, she’s satisfied with the way things are going in downtown Ferndale.

“Although the vacancy rate is up from where it has been (at around 5 percent), we still have business owners who are interested in coming to Ferndale,” she said. “It’s a great thing to see these changes coming to fruition.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jSelweski@candgnews.com or at (586)218-5004.