A historic Detroit home that has turned heads in recent years due to being situated on a wooded oasis in the city is back on the market.
Located at 22322 Roxford St. in a secluded subdivision at Seven Mile Road and Grand River Avenue, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom 2,812-square-foot Stone Craftsman-style house was built in 1926 by Edward J. Bench. The home charmed Patric Darby, a pediatric psychiatrist from Seattle who bought it last year for $399,000 and moved to Detroit to restore it. The restored home now has a $549,549 asking price.
“I love old houses,” Darby tells Metro Times. “They just have so much character, and I always have these sort of romantic fantasies — like, ‘Oh, I wonder, you know, which girl came down in her wedding dress down the stairs,’ and all that kind of stuff. I always like to think about all the things that happened in the house.”
Darby says over the years he has moved across the country renovating homes. His philosophy is to live in a space for a time before making any changes to it. “One of the things I always do is I have to live with it for a little bit to see what it needs or what it’s looking for,” he says.
Some of the changes he made to 22322 Roxford include installing custom radiator covers, which transform the old cast iron heaters into tabletop surfaces. “Now they all have covers and you can sit on them, you can use them to put party trays on for food and that kind of stuff,” he says.
He has also installed updated window treatments, insulation in the walls, a security system, and modern appliances, including a reverse osmosis water filtration system in the kitchen.
He has also updated the electric systems, waterproofed the basement, converted gas lights to electric, and added motorized garage doors.
The home’s unique green clay roof tiles have also been restored. “I did a lot of research to find out what the original colors were, and so the whole house has been repainted inside and out,” he says.
Darby has also installed updated concrete walkways in the yard, and added $25,000 worth of fresh Kentucky Bluegrass sod.
The property comes with an adjacent lot featuring a “Sunken Garden” design. “Basically, I have my own block,” he says.
A nearby tributary to the Rouge River attracts urban wildlife like deer, turkey, and mallards. The property also sits next to a former 100-acre golf course.
“It’s very quiet here,” Darby says. “The neighbors are phenomenal ... just the nicest people.”
He adds, “Sometimes as an outsider moving in, you think people are going to give you the cold shoulder. Everybody was very welcoming.”
Darby says he got a job offer elsewhere in Michigan, which is why he’s moving. He hopes whoever buys the home enjoys it as much as he has.
“The house will be here long after I’m gone. It’s been here for 100 years now,” he says. “We’re stewards — that’s all we can do, is be stewards of the house and just take care of it. Whoever gets the house, I mean, it’s a gem. It really is.”
Prospective buyers can contact Jordon Jarrett from the BNR Real Estate Group, and preview the property through the photos below.
