Developer wins praise after renovation completions at Glynn Court apartments in Detroit

A developer won cheers Thursday for finishing renovations to a 1920s Detroit building with affordable housing as it prepares for the next round of a fight against some Boston-Edison residents over a nearby rehab plan.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other city officials heaped praise on the principals of Detroit-based Timeless Properties during a July 10 celebration event for the development firm's completion of renovation and expansion work at the Glynn Court apartment building, at 1415 Glynn Court, about a block away from the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood.

The newly renovated Glynn Court apartments in Detroit

The 4½-story building was said to be only half full when Timeless Properties purchased it about five years ago. Since then, the firm has renovated all the apartments, upgraded the electrical and HVAC systems, and most recently created seven new units on the lower level, which expanded the building to 58 total apartments.

The over $1 million in rehab work was made possible through a property refinancing by the Detroit Housing for the Future Fund, which uses private investment dollars to help developers bridge financial gaps when creating affordable housing.

Adam Noel, co-founded of Timeless Properties, stands near Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan during a July 10, 2025, celebration of the completion of renovations to Glynn Court apartments.

All Glynn Court apartments are now guaranteed at "affordable" rents for at least 10 years, with more than half set aside for those earning at or below 60% of the area median income, or $42,420 for a single person or $48,480 for two people. Rents at the building start at $750 per month, the same as before the renovations.

“We know the rents are rising very quickly in the houses in the neighborhood; property values have doubled or tripled," Duggan said. "But people who want to be here can move into a $750 unit apartment and still be a part of the community — that’s the kind of city we’re trying to build."

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But a quarter mile away, Timeless Properties' latest proposal to turn a vacant three-story building at 9851 Hamilton that was once a church's community center into a 49-unit market-rate apartment building is drawing less than universal applause.

An empty community across the street from the Boston Edison neighborhood in Detroit on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

Although not within the Boston-Edison Historic District, the building is directly adjacent to it, and a Boston-Edison resident recently appealed an April 4 decision by the city's Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department, or BSEED, to grant the development firm a "special land use" necessary for the project. (The special use would allow for housing and retail, where the current permitted uses are office and parking.)

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The firm's 9851 Hamilton redevelopment plan is now scheduled for a public hearing at 9:15 a.m. on July 21 before Detroit's Board of Zoning Appeals.

A bright orange city notice on the front door of 9851 Hamilton announces a July 21, 2025, public hearing before Detroit's Board of Zoning Appeals.

The BSEED decision was appealed by one of the building's neighbors, the same neighbor who successfully appealed a 2023 BSEED decision concerning the same site and redevelopment plan. That earlier appeal resulted in a Wayne County Circuit Court judge last December requiring Timeless Properties to restart the land use request process from the beginning.

The neighbor who filed the formal appeals, Kagan Scannell, could not be reached for comment July 10.

At a Jan. 15 BSEED public hearing, multiple Boston Edison neighbors voiced concerns about future apartment dwellers and café customers bringing traffic to the area and taking up scarce street parking, among other things.

Adam Noel, co-owner of Timeless Properties, said July 10 that they have tried their best to answer all questions from the neighbors concerning the 9851 Hamilton project.

"We want to make sure that we create a building that serves the community well, whether that’s through apartments or also through retail space," Noel said. “We’ve reached out to community members from the Gateway Neighborhood and attended meetings there, and I’ve reached out continuously to the Boston-Edison neighborhood association to get their opinions on what we can do that would add positively to the neighborhood.”

Glynn Court 'a shining example'

A representative for Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield also praised Timeless Properties at Thursday's celebration for its work at the Glynn Court apartments.

The interior of an apartment in the newly renovated Glynn Court.

The representative, Victoria Williams, described the rehab as “a shining example of how we do invest in our neighborhoods without displacing the people who call them home.”

Tom Anderton, a partner in Timeless Properties, said Glynn Court never closed down and that residents who wished to stay in the building during the renovations could move into one of the finished yet unoccupied apartments while their apartment received the upgrades. Today, the building is more or less completely full, he said.

"I don't think we had any displacement," Anderton said.

Timeless Properties now has eight apartment buildings in Detroit, Anderton said, including two at the same intersection of Glynn Court and Byron Street as the redone Glynn Court apartments.

The interior of an apartment in the newly renovated Glynn Court.

During his remarks Thursday, Mayor Duggan also reflected on the dramatic revitalization that has happened in recent years in the surrounding neighborhood, and the growing number of new and newly rehabbed buildings across the city offering affordable housing options.

"There was a time when if you had an announcement at a building like this, it was either abandoned or it was being knocked down," Duggan said. "And now week after week, what we’re seeing are these beautiful buildings being restored and families who are from here who want to stay in the community.”

Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or [email protected]. Follow him on X @jcreindl

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Renovated Detroit apartments are guaranteed to have 'affordable' rents