Green Garage has guests (already!)

We all know that the Green Garage is not yet fit for human occupancy, but from Feb. 20-23 we hosted a biosand filter class for about 20 people. Our friends, John and Eileen Heasley, work with the Troy Rotary Club to provide Biosand Water Filters to people in need of clean water around the world. They wanted to host a biosand filter training class but could not find a building that fulfilled the requirements of meeting place AND physical workshop with water access. Our place fits both criteria, and so, even though the building is still in its rustic state, these intrepid warriors met for 5 days, braving loud blowers from the heaters, cold floors and a pretty primitive bathroom. But these are folks who are willing to travel to 3rd-world countries to teach people how to develop their own clean water, so they were the right group for the setting. And we couldn't have been happier to see real people using the building...an enticing vision of things to come.

The Green Garage

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.