A nearly 9,000-square-foot house in Detroit's historic Brush Park neighborhood, where J.L. Hudson once lived, is on the market for nearly $2 million.
The 1872 French Second Empire-style house has 11 bedrooms, 4½ bathrooms and a two-car garage. Known as the Hudson/Evans House, it was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Michael VanOverbeke, an attorney whose law firm owns the house, has worked there for 27 years. He was drawn to Brush Park long before much of the development that surrounds the neighborhood today.
“There was no arena. There was no ballpark,” he said.
VanOverbeke had restored another Brush Park house when he began looking for a larger building for the law
practice. He said some clients thought he was crazy for moving there.
Today, the house sits just east of Woodward Avenue, near Little Caesars Arena and several blocks from Comerica Park, Ford Field and the Fox Theatre. The Brush Park neighborhood is now a mix of restored Victorian mansions and newer condos and apartment buildings.
Inside 79 Alfred St., many of the house’s 19th-century details remain.
VanOverbeke said six of its seven fireplaces are original, along with much of the woodwork, decorative plasterwork, ceiling medallions and portions of the hardwood floors.
The home’s history is tied to several prominent Detroit names. It later became the home of Grace Whitney Evans, daughter of lumber baron David Whitney Jr. J.L. Hudson, founder of the department store that bore his name, rented the house from 1894 to 1904.
One of his favorite features is the main staircase, with its curved wood railings and ornate plasterwork.
“You come through your third or fourth time, you rediscover new things,” he said.
VanOverbeke said the previous owner preserved much of the first floor, but the property still needed substantial work when his law firm acquired it.
Near the front door is a round radiator that VanOverbeke said was used to warm hats and gloves. An Old Detroit Jewel stove in the kitchen still works, he said.
“There was literally a tree growing out of the second floor of the brick,” he said.
Over the years, he said, the firm had the brick tuckpointed, exterior woodwork and corbels rebuilt, the slate roof repaired and other roofs on the property replaced.
The main house is about 6,000 square feet, with another roughly 3,000 square feet in the carriage house, VanOverbeke said. The carriage house has a two-bedroom apartment upstairs and a pub downstairs in former horse-stall space that the law firm has used for gatherings.
Although the property has primarily been used as an office during VanOverbeke’s time there, he said the building is residential with a variance that has allowed his law practice to operate there.
After 27 years, VanOverbeke said maintaining the property has become increasingly demanding and he is ready to slow down. He would like to see it used as a home again, although another use could be possible depending on city approvals.
Nicholas Asplund of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate is handling the residential side, while Jeffery Hillman of Armada Real Estate Services is handling commercial inquiries. The home is listed for $1,999,000.
VanOverbeke, who said he worked on four historic Brush Park houses, views preservation as more than a real estate investment.
“I look at these old homes as works of art,” he said. “And with all great works of art, they should be preserved.”
Still, this house stands apart for him.
“This house has always been my heart.”
Brendel Clark writes about real estate and other topics for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bclark@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Historic Detroit mansion where J.L. Hudson lived lists for nearly $2M
