DETROIT (AP) - A village of nine Quonset huts is emerging in an area between two Detroit neighborhoods.
Philip Kafka, a New York City investor who began buying vacant buildings and lots in the city five years ago, is starting to overhaul the blight into developments to help transform the area, The Detroit News (https://detne.ws/2iwHYn2 ) reported.
“I tapped into a wonderful, open community,” Kafka said. “I’m not doing any of this alone. I meet so many passionate people here; it’s one of the best parts of this experience.”
Edwin Chan, a Los Angeles architect, designed the half-cylinder structures made of steel. Quonset huts were originally cheap structures built by the military during World War II.
“I advertised the project in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn and have received a lot of interest from these markets,” Kafka said. “This is the romantic vision they have Detroit. You can live and work in a bunker and be a little bit off the grid, but still be totally connected to the city.”
Kafka’s own Detroit home is one of the sloped, steel huts, the Detroit Free Press (https://on.freep.com/2iwCMj8 ) reported. He said Detroit residents want this form of sustainable, affordable housing and that it could draw more outsiders to the city.
Each hut is somewhat different in its size and structure. The largest unit measures at 1,600 square feet and three stories high, while the smallest units are 600 square feet.
Five of the huts are already preleased.
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