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THE JEWISH NEWS

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This Week's Top Stories

The Times,
They Are A Changin'

A suburb once thought to be a breath away from dying
is fast becoming the hottest property in town.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

en years ago it would
not have been consid-
ered inappropriate to
express condolences to
friends and family mov-
ing to Oak Park. A card
showing a pastoral
scene and bearing a
carefully worded mes-
sage — "We are with
you in your pain" — might not
have been out of order.
That was back when many re-
garded Oak Park a dwindling
neighborhood whose Jewish res-
idents consisted of the Orthodox,
the poor, the elderly.
These days, a family interest-
ed in settling in north Oak Park
is lucky to find a home — any
home — for sale. Houses that are
available do not come at bargain
prices, starting at around
$120,000 and running to $190,000
for a ranch that may or may not
have a finished basement, three
bedrooms or a garage.
"Oak Park has become very,
very popular," according to Ruth
Levi, a realtor with Century 21
First in Bingham Farms.
'There's a waiting list for every
available house, as well as a
number of people wanting to buy
smaller homes they can raze then
turn into big houses.
"Prices have gone up at least
30 percent in the last three
years," she added, with the av-
erage cost of a home in north Oak
Park (from Ten Mile north to
Eleven Mile, flanked by Green-
field and Coolidge) now about
$145,000.
Some areas — such as where
the Orthodox community is
strongest — are especially in de-
mand. Mrs. Levi, also a resident
of Oak Park, points to Dart-
mouth Street off Lincoln and
Greenfield where "all people have
to do is whisper that they want
to move and the house is sold the
next day. No realtors are ever re-
quired."
Another example of Oak Park's
revival is the renovations — some
of which are in progress, some of
which are still in the planning
stages — at five of the city's Jew-
ish institutions. The Sally Allen
Alexander Bais Yaakov School for
Girls, the Kollel, Temple Emanu-

El, Congregation
Beth Shalom and
Young Israel of Oak
Park all are expand-
ing and developing,
some mounting cam-
paigns that run well
into the millions.
The inevitable
question is, what ac-
counts for the turn-
around — especially
considering this com-
munity's tradition of
picking up and leav-
ing what once were
well-established,
flourishing neighbor-
hoods.
The answer lies in
a combination of fac-
tors: a strong Ortho-
dox community that
was determined not
to run, a completed
highway, a respected
secular school dis-
trict, a flourishing
Reform and Conservative com-
munity in nearby Huntington
Woods, and a Jewish Federation
decision seven years ago to pur-
chase a single building.
verybody wants to be
where everybody else is,"
realtor Ruth Levi said.
Right now, everybody
wants to be in Oak Park.
Although some of Mrs. Levi's
clients are Oak Park residents
looking to settle into larger
homes, they also include an in-
creasing number living elsewhere
in metro Detroit.
The Neighborhood Project, a
Federation program which offers
interest-free loans to Jews set-
tling in the area, sees families
from as far off as Westland and
Wixom. Mrs. Levi has interest-
ed buyers from West Bloomfield
and Southfield, the latter espe-
cially eager to become part of the
Berkley School District.
"The Berkley School District
has a very good reputation," both
its regular classes and programs
for developmentally challenged
children, Mrs. Levi said.
The housing prices in South-
field and Oak Park are compa-
rable.

PHOTOS BY GLENN TRI EST

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OAK PARK page 18

Top left: "A rebirth, a revitalization" can be seen everywhere in Oak Park.

Top right: "No one is going to put money into a business and then abandon it." Workers at a deli in Oak Park.

Above: Those lucky enough to find a house for sale in north Oak Park should be prepared to pay anywhere from $120,000 to
$190,000.