The Royal Oak Acorn 🌳
@RoyalOakAcorn
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Tracking development news, urban planning, transit, local biz, news, and history in Royal Oak, MI. Not a journalist or govt. affiliated - opinions are my own.
Royal Oak, MI
Joined March 2022
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Four Royal Oak, MI developments to watch in 2024:
➡️New YMCA/Community Center on Main St.
➡️The Delaware apartments
➡️Carbon on Troy apartments
➡️Updated Royal Oak Master Plan
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Speed bumps should actually break your car if you hit them too fast.
Milwaukee resident complains about traffic calming:
“My son hit a speed bump that wasn’t visible at night and blew his motor. So, if the purpose is to do damage, it works as it should.”
Rest of Milwaukee hopes this young man will be without a car for some time.
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@Eric_Erins
Ace near me is bike accessible and the staff knows what they’re talking about. They even let me borrow the store’s socket set one time. You won’t get that at a big box.
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People: “There’s nowhere to park in Royal Oak!”
The city: “Got it, here’s two massive new garages downtown. First two hours are free.”
People: “No, not like that.”
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UPDATE: Motion passes.
The proposal for a 42-unit apartment complex at 4704 Rochester Rd. in Royal Oak is approved unanimously by the City Commission.
The City Commission will decide the fate of the proposed apartment building near 14 and Rochester in apparently “last rural area of Royal Oak” at tonight’s meeting.
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Oh, they’re going to wildly overpay some marketing agency to make a video with drone shots of Grand Haven beach, Campus Martius, and the Pictured Rocks and call it a smashing success
NEWS: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will announce tomorrow the launch of a $20 million national marketing campaign intended to boost Michigan's stagnant population and attract/keep talent.
@MEDC
leaders say it will be the largest state talent attraction campaign/effort in America.
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Lakeside Mall vs. downtown Royal Oak, same scale.
1. What a waste of land at the mall.
2. Lakeside has TONS of free parking, yet it’s basically dead. It’s almost like unlimited free parking isn’t a magic bullet for retail.
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A listing ad for a home on Blair Ave. in Royal Oak, September 1940. Adjusted for inflation, the $4,000 cost would be just under $90K in today’s dollars.
The house sold for $305K last October.
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Going between Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak on foot/bike is actually very unpleasant.
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Every. Single. One. of the NIMBY candidates on the ballot in Royal Oak lost yesterday.
I guess running almost exclusively negative campaigns with few ideas other than "no rezoning or bike lanes" failed to resonate with the residents of Royal Oak.
THE RESULTS ARE IN! 100% of precincts have reported in Royal Oak's election! Mayoral results (unofficial):
Michael Fournier: 9,064 (58.32%)
Trish Oliver: 6,477 (41.68%)
Mayor Fournier is re-elected.
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@MIOHSP
This is an unserious post.
Come with me on a tour of the streets of Royal Oak and see how little bright clothing helps when drivers are speeding, texting, and blowing stop signs.
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PROPOSED: A 41-story skyscraper in downtown Royal Oak. Construction to begin in September 2023.
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NEW: A proposal for an 11-story, mixed-use building with 54 units and ground-floor retail at 505 S Lafayette in Royal Oak.
The developer is asking the Zoning Board of Appeals to waive 100% of the parking requirements and 17 ft. of the maximum allowable building height of 125 ft
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A commuter line down Woodward from Pontiac to Detroit would be a game changer for the future of the Woodward corridor.
So exciting!
What transit/rail do you think MI should build with (part of) $2 billion?
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People who say "I never see anyone using the bike lanes" are either oblivious or arguing in bad faith, but it's especially untrue when the weather hits 60+ in Royal Oak. Bikes galore!
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The most annoying form of advertising on the planet:
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🚃Introducing the (fictional) Royal Oak People Mover elevated rail line!
I was inspired by the recent Detroit People Mover discourse, so I decided to make my own looping, 3-mile elevated system for downtown Royal Oak.
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Visiting large cities & seeing how they’ve pedestrianized streets & added bike lane networks makes the arguments against them in little ol Royal Oak so laughable
I’m tired of fear mongering from people who seemingly only leave their house to drive to Kroger. Sorry, had to say it
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Funding a functional regional mass transit system: 🙅🏼🤦🏻♂️👎🚫😳⛔️
Funding “smart” highways that use “machine learning algorithms” that only work with newer cars: 🥳💵🎉😎🙌🫡💰
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The dream of boarding a fast and frequent Amtrak to Chicago and beyond at the brand new Royal Oak Station Plaza just got a tiny bit closer.
WE GOT OUR CORRIDOR GRANTS
We don't know exactly what improvements are coming, but hopefully this means studying new trips and track upgrades on the Blue Water, Wolverine, and Pere Marquette!
(The Northern Michigan project was a separate application, still awaiting news there)
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The city of Berkley’s April Fools “joke” is creating safer, more walkable streets.
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@niawag1
@FLEETFEETDC
A running store opposing measures that would make streets safer for pedestrians is wild
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The apartment proposal at Rochester, south of 14 Mile passed the Planning Commission 6-1 last night. It will go to the City Commission next.
Some residents objected to this proposal in what apparently is a “rural” part of Royal Oak.
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The only baby boomers to blame for the shortage are the myopic ones who block new housing construction.
Staying in your house for a long time isn’t a problem, but refusing to allow new housing is a problem.
Baby boomers to blame for housing shortage, real estate report says
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From the 1979 draft titled “Public Transportation Alternatives Analysis”, one option included light rail from downtown Detroit to the Woodward & 696 interchange.
According to the doc, the rail would travel at 15.5 MPH (including stops). That’s 34 mins from 696 to Campus Martius.
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Allow me to save years worth of studies and planning for these funds: add protected bike lanes to Main St. in downtown and turn Royal Oak into a cycling destination, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Metro Detroit.
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I mean, duh?
Tall vehicle front ends pose deadly problem for pedestrians, research finds
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Do yourself a favor and don’t read the Facebook comments on this. You’d think a single bike lane is the worst assault on freedom in this country’s history.
Losing one (1) lane of a massive road turns people into the biggest crybabies.
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I cannot think of anything more symbolic of how we treat pedestrians than all the battered "stop for pedestrians, state law" signs on Main Street that are run over or ignored by vehicles flying through downtown.
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The current Oak Park, MI bike lane discourse is fascinating. Am I allowed to talk about a nearby city, also named after an oak tree? Oh well, I'm gonna do it anyway.
🧵Thread 🧵
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The morals of the story for me:
➡️Our region's car dependence continues to hamper projects that add much-needed housing supply and vibrance to key areas of our local downtowns.
➡️The demise of local journalism is really bad. This story should have gotten more attention.
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I can’t stop thinking about this quote from Dan Gilbert, in context of the people who go to public comment in RO and claim the loss of a surface parking lot would be “devastating” to the city.
Myopic.
"These kids today, they don't want to drive cars," he said. "They'll take a bike or they'll take a train. They may take a bus. I think a bike and train are the main ways. Maybe walking. They like that too."
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Excellent op-ed from Dan Gilbert.
Conversations around transit & housing in the region are often driven by naysayers with a myopic view.
What are we doing to ensure Royal Oak & Metro Detroit is an attractive, affordable place for our kids and grandkids in the future?
Dan Gilbert: Why do I care about transit? Just ask young people.
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The motion to approve the site plan passed at the most recent meeting.
NEW: A mixed-use proposal to renovate & add a story to the former home of Peking House in Royal Oak, MI.
The site plan application will be considered by the Planning Commission at the July 9th meeting.
More info:
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An original plan for the widening of Woodward, from the August 15, 1924 edition of the Tribune.
Eight lanes of traffic and four transit lines in the median.
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The City Commission will decide the fate of the proposed apartment building near 14 and Rochester in apparently “last rural area of Royal Oak” at tonight’s meeting.
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The existence of Optimist Park implies the existence of Pessimist Park
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A new ranking of walkable cities in Metro Detroit just dropped… however, these low effort lists are not scientific, they’re just ways for real estate and insurance companies to get free local media coverage.
Vinsetta Garage isn’t even in Royal Oak!
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Downtown Royal Oak YMCA project update:
➡️ Motion passed for an NDA & Exclusivity Agreement with the YMCA to investigate the site at 600 S. Main (currently a parking lot).
➡️ Motion passed for the city to allocate $25K in ARPA funds to the YMCA to begin schematic design work.
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It wouldn’t be a festival downtown Royal Oak without four planes with weed ads circling for 72 hours straight
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Pretty disappointed that my most viral post is about hypothetical speed bumps and not this awesome rendering of a hypothetical new train station in Royal Oak.
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Totally normal and not unhinged reaction to the Woodward bike lane article on FOX2's Facebook page.
@AntiCyclingFB
While this is Ferndale, this is an exciting project that funnels directly into Royal Oak.
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The life and death of a surface parking lot in Royal Oak, MI.
This is the lot at Second and Center, first pictured in the October 19, 1972 Daily Tribune after the demolition of two homes.
Today, this is the site of an office building (150 W. Second Street).
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Every once in a while, the Freep is clearly forced by their parent conglomerate to tweet the most out of touch, pointless videos.
This one… drumroll… takes the cake.
These incredibly realistic cakes look nothing like they taste.
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Walked by this lot today, and it was almost exactly as busy as the Google satellite image below.
I’m sure it gets busier on weekend nights, but let’s not start the narrative that this is some jam-packed, vital parking lot for the survival of Royal Oak.
Downtown Royal Oak YMCA project update:
➡️ Motion passed for an NDA & Exclusivity Agreement with the YMCA to investigate the site at 600 S. Main (currently a parking lot).
➡️ Motion passed for the city to allocate $25K in ARPA funds to the YMCA to begin schematic design work.
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NEW: The first draft of the Royal Oak Master Plan is here. The plan focuses on six goals, with subcategories and action items for each goal.
The plan is comprehensive, so I’d recommend just diving in and reading it:
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UPDATE: The architect reduced the height of each floor, which now puts the building below the height maximum.
The motion PASSES to approve the remaining variance to waive the 81-spot parking minimum. The building moves forward, likely to the Planning Commission next.
On the agenda at tonight’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting: 505 S. Lafayette Ave, a mixed-use proposal downtown Royal Oak.
The petitioner is asking the ZBA to waive 81 of the required 81 off-street parking spaces and waive 17 ft of the max allowable building height of 125 feet.
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Improving a local park that needs a refresh? Nope, must be a grand conspiracy theory. Only on Facebook 🙄
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Extremely nerdy post incoming: my interest in development and urban planning came from the game Sim City 4.
Twenty years later, there are still hard-working modders improving the game. This week, a mod for 3D camera angles launched. A dream update for a young Acorn.
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Another Zoning Board of Appeals meeting where a small group of neighbors nitpick details like number of bathrooms and garage square footage on a plan for someone else’s home.
Fun stuff!
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Lots of complaints about speeding and vehicle noise occurring all over the city at last night’s City Commission meeting.
Drag racing on Woodward Ave., reckless speeding near busy parks, texting & driving, etc. You know, normal stuff for our car-centric metro area.
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This meeting is tonight, and the packet in the agenda now includes displeasure from several residents of the nearby 19-story residential tower (The 5th) concerning parking and the height.
Note: The 5th is the tallest building in Royal Oak.
Get the 🍿 ready!
NEW: A proposal for an 11-story, mixed-use building with 54 units and ground-floor retail at 505 S Lafayette in Royal Oak.
The developer is asking the Zoning Board of Appeals to waive 100% of the parking requirements and 17 ft. of the maximum allowable building height of 125 ft
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I don’t like sharing news stories about pedestrian deaths and injuries as “this proves my urban planning thesis” content, but wow, someone gets hit by a car in Metro Detroit like every day.
Our tolerance for death and injuries in the name of “driving freedom” is staggering.
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NEW: proposed 2-story mixed-use building on Woodward, north of Roseland Cemetery.
The petitioner is requesting the Zoning Board of Appeals waive 55 of the minimum required 56 off-street parking spaces for 2 restaurants and an office unit.
Details:
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NEW: Initial renderings from Krieger Klatt Architects for a proposed public restroom at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market.
The project will be discussed at the 12/18 City Commission. Info:
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You simply have to skip getting the avocado toast at Royal Oak Roast 25,412 times to make up the difference between the inflation-adjusted 1940 cost and today’s value. Simple.
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🧵Royal Oak Master Plan Direction thread 🧵
This is the "direction that the consultant team recommends for creating the first draft of Royal Oak’s master plan."
Document:
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Resurfacing on Washington and Lincoln has revealed one of the rails from the old Interurban Railway that ran downtown Royal Oak.
Check it out before it gets covered by asphalt!
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About once a month MDOT puts out a press release about some absurd “next-gen” technology with more buzzwords than a hive of talking bees.
MDOT and MI Central have partnered on Detroit's Advanced Aerial Innovation Region, aimed at expanding next-gen aerial mobility and drone technology to Detroit.
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Rail transit was so popular, they even moved houses on rails! This is from the November 7, 1942 edition of The Tribute, and details a house moved on rails from 11 Mile to Troy St.
The photo in the paper is of the back of the house, and the next one is the house today.
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@CutBackDavis69
@scott_scharl
Speed bumps that will prevent crashes, injuries, and possibly deaths are well worth it, especially on the context of all the budget spent on widening and resurfacing the roads in Metro Detroit.
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This was approved by the Planning Commission last night.
Worth noting, not one person was there for public comment. The property owner’s attorney even joked that “ticket sales are down” when speaking to the commission
NEW: A proposal to construct a 30-unit, 3.5 story apartment at 3951 Crooks in Royal Oak (across from ROHS).
The developer is requesting a rezoning from multi-family to Planned Unit development. There will be a public hearing at the 12/12 Planning Commission meeting.
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Take the quick Royal Oak Master Plan Survey
#2
today! Give your input on housing, zoning, density, pedestrian safety, and more! Open to residents AND non-residents.
Bonus rendering of the what could be possible in the Normandy Oaks industrial area:
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BREAKING: Royal Oak Recreation Center update ⤵️
The City Commission will vote to approve a mutual NDA and Exclusivity Agreement with the YMCA of Metro Detroit to conduct a development investigation process for the parking lot site at 600 S. Main.
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NEW: A mixed-use proposal to renovate & add a story to the former home of Peking House in Royal Oak, MI.
The site plan application will be considered by the Planning Commission at the July 9th meeting.
More info:
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Government agencies always say the quiet part out loud with these PSAs:
As a pedestrian, you can follow the law perfectly, but you must go above and beyond because drivers can’t be bothered or enforced to do the same.
Eyes up, phones down! Pedestrian safety starts with attention. Stay alert and avoid distractions while walking. Your safety is in your hands! 📵
#PedestrianSafety
#Crosswalk
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🧵 People would rather "protect" things like surface parking, unwalkable communities, and car-centric development instead of allowing the things that keep their kids and grandkids from moving out of state and coming back to visit once a year.
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Have you ever wondered why N. Sherman Drive doesn't follow the Royal Oak street grid?
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Worth noting; they built the ice rink on a platform this year, which means they didn’t have to replant the sod in Centennial Commons.
Outside of a brown patch or two, the grass is good to go for the spring. A nice change from the previous setup.
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🛣️Highway vs. Golf Course⛳️
Did you know Rackham Golf Course used to be bigger, but was reconfigured to accommodate I-696? Everything in the shaded area on the left was demolished. The construction and impact of 696 is fascinating.
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The long-awaited City Commission recommendation for the rezoning of 503 S. Troy from multiple-family residential” to Planned Unit Development for a new 4-story, 27 unit apartment building is on the books at the 12/11 Commission meeting.
Info:
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Ironically, the plan to renovate Lakeside looks almost like an attempt to recreate a small version downtown Royal Oak!
Maybe leaning into our unique density is a better idea than defending surface parking? Just a thought!
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Up the road in Birmingham, the city is considering adding sidewalks & narrowing some streets, which would result in cutting down trees.
Local residents took the city commission on a walking tour of the area, an interesting idea, no matter how you feel about the issue at hand.
Homeowners in Birmingham came together to try to stop the city from beginning construction on neighborhood streets that would kill hundreds of historic trees.
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"I've never seen a bike out there" commented someone below a selfie of someone riding a bike in said bike lane...
However, there are a LOT of people in support of the bike lane, despite the negativity often seen on social media. A great project from Oak Park!
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"We provide a roadway that can easily and completely be driven at 60 mph and post signs telling you to fight your natural instinct and go 35 mph, and it’s no surprise that hasn’t worked."
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I've been thinking about this thread a lot. Twitter is really not what it used to be, but I'm not sure where else to showcase this nerdy hobby of digging through city documents for cool renderings.
What is the best place to go?
Happy Holidays! I hope you're good. Am fine. So I didn't make a big deal out of it when I made the decision — But since I had a minute I thought I'd share that for multiple reasons, updating more on 🧵now.
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Cute name, but it won’t make a dent on distracted driving. Feels like most drivers use their phones behind the wheel, from young to old.
Operation Ghost Rider targets distracted drivers across Michigan: What to know
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Up for approval: the addition of 57 concrete pads at SMART bus stops in Royal Oak using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. This will be discussed at the next City Commission Meeting.
Full info:
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There is a Change dot org petition to stop this development in Ferndale, which is set to replace a surface parking lot at 141 Vester St.
Seeing a lot of "Don't Royal Oak my Ferndale" comments, which has piqued my interest.
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Housing prices in Royal Oak's walkable neighborhoods back this up, and things will only get more expensive as Gen-Z starts renting/buying. Increasing supply is crucial, but Royal Oak is poised to be in a good spot.
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NEW: proposal for Lincoln Place, a 5-story, 158-unit apartment building on Lincoln, east of Main St. in Royal Oak.
The Planning Commission will review the site plan at the 8/13 meeting.
More info:
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PROPOSED: A 3.5-story building with 44 multiple-family dwellings on the site of a former bank at 4704 Rochester Rd.
The developer is asking the Planning Commission for several zoning variances, and the Commission is asking for numerous revisions to the site plan.
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