Historic District homes portion of Downs project gains HDC approval
Posted on 07/28/2022
The corner of Cady and Griswold shows row houses on the right and townhomes on the left.The Historic District Commission on July 20 voted to accept Hunter Pasteur Northville’s application as complete to build seven row houses along Cady St., four townhomes fronting Griswold and three attached single-family homes behind the row houses – all in the Historic District.

There was discussion by the HDC about what they were able to approve in the preliminary site plan, since the townhomes fronting Griswold and the three attached single-family homes have 30 percent or less of their structure located inside the Historic District boundary. While the HDC’s approval applied only to individual units in those two structures within the boundary, it’s expected their vote will be generally accepted by the Planning Commission for the other units in those structures that are outside the boundary.

The HDC also granted a Certificate of Appropriateness, with revisions, as follows: 1.) Row houses: Correct elevation drawings to consistently show "eyebrow" dormers (half-moon window with an arch that accents it). 2.) Row houses: Color match the garage doors to the individual unit siding color. 3.) Townhomes: On corner elevations, extend the same brick located on the front elevation to the side elevations up to the first level horizontal trim (aka belt line), and paint the upper portions of the side façade the same color as the brick. 4.) Townhomes: On the rear elevation: paint these elevations the same color as the brick on the unit's front elevation, providing a unique identity for each unit. 5.) Correct the number (wrong number listed) that identifies the proposed garage door style. View the HPN presentation on the city website.

HPN is to revise the plans and deliver them to the Building Dept. for the city's records. The applicant will not need to appear again before the Historic District Commission on this item, although the apartment building and condominium building being proposed for Cady St. must come before the HDC in another application.

View the video here.  

Sketches provided by developer. Above: Corner of Cady and Griswold with proposed new homes. Below: Historic District boundary includes only a portion of the townhomes and single-family attached homes. 

Historic District boundary