SOUTHFIELD:

"There is nothing
wrong with our
neighbors and
there is nothing
wrong with the
schools. A lot of
people who
graduated with me
are moving back
here."

— Jeff Bussell

reinvested. Look at the
shopping center at 10 Mile
and Coolidge, the K-mart at
Lincoln Center, the increas-
ed use of the 10 Mile JCC.
"There was an element of
uncertainty when we started
this program. Was it too
late? Too late for what? A
number of people are moving
out, but Jewish people are
moving into the commun-
ity."
Most of the Neighborhood
Project loans, 55 percent,
have gone to home buyers in
Oak Park. The rest have
gone to families in specified
areas of Southfield.
To date, the majority of
Neighborhood Project par-
ticipants are professionals
between the ages of 30 and
40. Most home buyers' in-
comes range between
$30,000 and $60,000 a year.
And most — 57 percent —
are couples with children.

As of May 1991, 68 loans
had been repaid. Of those,
nine moved out of state, nine
moved to the outer suburbs,
and three moved to another
home in Oak Park or
Southfield.

Staying Close
To Community

Jeff and Julie Bussell,
each in their late 20s, just
purchased their first home,
on Berkshire at 11 Mile bet-
ween Evergreen and Lahser
in Beacon Square — down
the street from the house
where Jeff Bussell was rais-
ed. His parents still live
there.
He is an automotive com-
ponent buyer; she a pre-
school teacher. They have no
children.
They moved to Southfield
for many reasons. Mrs.
Bussell wanted to raise chil-
dren in an ethnically in-
tegrated area. Both liked the
school system.
With an eruv (ritual
enclosure) nearby, they
assumed the area would re-
tain a Jewish flavor. In addi-
tion, they considered a fi-
nancial factor. They obtain-
ed an interest-free loan
toward the down payment
from Neighborhood Project.
"We looked in Farmington
Hills and here," Mr. Bussell
said. "This was a pretty
stable neighborhood.
"If there was no financial
incentive, we might not have
moved here," he said. "We'll
stay here as long as it stays
reasonably integrated and
balanced, or until we
outgrow the house."
Many of their friends ad-
vised against a move to
Southfield, a city they said
provided poor schools and no
future. The Bussells thought
the comments were absurd.
"Part of the problem is
that our parents worked for
a long time to be able to af-
ford larger, newer homes,"
Mr. Bussell said. "There is
too much pressure, and it is
too costly.
"There is nothing wrong
with our neighbors and
there is nothing wrong with
the schools," he said. "A lot
of people who graduated
with me are moving back
here.
"There's always going to

Photo by Glenn Triest

"The officers of the Fed-
eration realized Southfield
was an important Jewish
hub," said Hugh Greenberg,
Neighborhood Project
chairman. "A significant
number of Jewish people
were there. The Jewish in-
stitutions were all there.
"Many felt the neighbor-
hood gave already," Mr.
Greenberg said. "I had res-
ervations as to whether or
not this would be successful.
It has been fabulously suc-
cessful."
Mr. Greenberg credits
Neighborhood Project with
economic development in
sections near 1-696. Home
values have risen, and the
community is reinvesting,
stimulating businesses to
follow its lead, he said.
"The neighborhood is vital
and vibrant," he said.
"Instead of watching things
decay, everyone has

be Jewish life in Southfield,"
he said. "Maybe the econo-
my will force people to take a
second look at where they
live.
"If everybody leaves, the
area will turn into what they
are moving away from," he
said. "Soon the Jewish
community will be a suburb
of Lansing."
Ideally, Steve Kaplan,
president of Southfield's
Neighborhood Project
homeowner's group, would
like to encourage young,
Jewish families with chil-
dren in condominiums,
apartments or small houses

living in Oak Park, Ferndale
and Berkley to move to
Southfield.
"On a practical level, I
want to encourage Jews here
to remain, and to attract
Jewish couples without chil-
dren or, religious Jews with
kids in the private schools,"
said Mr. Kaplan, also presi-
dent of the Southfield School
Board.
"I don't have a crystal ball,
but I am optimistic," Mr.
Kaplan said. "In 20 years,
Southfield will be as it is
now. There are people who
do not want to live in West
Bloomfield."

With a

Neighborhood
Project home
improvement loan,
Mintzy and Gene
Schramm built an
addition so her
mother could live
with them.

❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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