On December 31, the Brennans officially purchased a building in the Wayne State area of Detroit which we are calling the Green Garage. The original use of the building was as a showroom for cars with Model T chassis', so the building goes way back in the history of Detroit. In fact, it is on the Registry of Historic Buildings. Since its original use, the building has had many other uses. For a while in the 1960's, it housed a company called 'Kanners and Patrize,' which distributed sundry goods that were sold to stores like Hudson's. Most recently, the building served as a storehouse for neighborhood businesses.
Our idea for the building is to develop a space where people can work to develop environmental sustainability enterprise ideas and skills, and take them out into the city. Think of it as a Thomas Edison workshop circa 2008. First, however, the building will have to go through 2 remodeling phases. Initially, it has to become safe, secure and dry (read: new roof!). Next will come a combination historic/green renovation. We are currently considering ways to document the entire process, and will provide a link on this site once this is established. Click here to view a map of the location.
1 comment:
I was employed at kanners and patrize in the late 80's early 90's by the Lucente family. I waS a great job. I had no idea of the history of the building. Please contact me if you need aany help cleaning up the building. I can be contacted at chrismeller@gmail.com
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