continued from page 14 16 March 28 • 2019 jn home in 2006. “We liked the good housing stock, the community atmosphere and that we often saw kids outside,” Aaron said. “ And being in the Berkley school district was a bonus as well.” For those who keep kosher, Oak Park also is close to One Stop Kosher Market and several kosher restaurants, including Kravings, Prime 10, Jerusalem Pizza, Dave’ s Gourmet and a kosher Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins. BERKLEY A charming small town dis- tinguished by an abundance of single-family housing on tree- lined streets, Berkley attracts Jewish families “because of the good schools, location and prices. You can afford to buy a house there,” said longtime Realtor Linda Solomon of Berkshire Hathaway HWWB Realtors in Birmingham. Students from Huntington Woods and the northern part of Oak Park join their coun- terparts from Berkley at the well-regarded Berkley High School on Catalpa Drive. Berkley schools, in general, have an excellent reputation. Nechama (Finer) Lurie and Jason Lurie are four-year Berkley homeowners. Both 34, he grew up in Troy and she’ s lived in several American cities. They moved back to the U.S. from Israel. A trained tour guide, Nechama Lurie works for the national Birthright Israel and does homework tutoring in Hebrew and Judaics. Jason Lurie is an executive at CARite and a freelance business intel- ligence consultant. The Luries belong to Kehillat Etz Chaim and also attend Aish HaTorah on Coolidge in Oak Park. “We didn’ t know we’ d find other Jewish fam- ilies in Berkley,” Nechama said. “But [Berkley] seemed like the logical place for ‘ spillover’ from Huntington Woods and Oak Park and had Jewish organizations and shuls close by. There are quite a lot of developers building in this area and we’ ve seen three mezuzot go up on those new homes.” Nechama stays close to people she knows in Huntington Woods and Oak Park because “Berkley touch- es both of those. I can walk to most of those friends and shuls within 15-30 minutes.” Elwin Greenwald, owner for 26 years of Elwin & Co. on Coolidge in Berkley, said a large influx of young Jewish couples is moving into Berkley and visiting his store for its baked goods and prepared Jewish-style food. He believes those outgrowing smaller Berkley homes usu- ally relocate to Huntington Woods or Royal Oak. He and his late partner, Dale, moved 20 years ago to the Woodward-12 Mile section of Royal Oak because “we wanted a larger lot and a ranch home, and they’ re not avail- able in Huntington Woods. ” Greenwald also notices a growing Jewish presence in his neighborhood. FERNDALE Brittany Feldman, 27, Hazon Detroit’ s manager of sustainability and outdoor engagement, attends events at Jewish Ferndale. A Ferndale resident for almost five years, Brittany calls her city “open and welcoming. ” OAK PARK • The Kroger chain was granted state tax incen- tives to take over a former 7.9-acre Kmart prop- erty at 26200 Greenfield Road, south of 11 Mile Road. The Kroger with gas pumps and drive- through pharmacy will open in 2020. • Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, Metro Detroit’ s larg- est Jewish day school with 1,063 students, is building a new elementary and middle school for girls on 10 Mile Road and the east side of Church Street. On the west side of Church is Bais Yakov High School and Meer Preschool, a 55,000-square-foot facility that opened in August 2013. • MoGo Detroit Bike Share is partnering with local municipalities to bring the bike-share sys- tem to southeast Oakland County. Oak Park will have five stations, strategically placed across the city, when the service becomes available to resi- dents in late spring to early summer. HUNTINGTON WOODS • The small, mostly residential community has 12 parks: two on Coolidge, four on 11 Mile and six in the city’ s interior. Other attractions include a pool, golf course, Rec Center day camps and classes. Some residents live close enough to the Detroit Zoological Park to hear the animals. BERKLEY • The city’ s amenities include a Recreation Department and an ice arena. • For new development, a Michigan State Federal Credit Union is set for construction on Coolidge, near 11 Mile. Berkley is considering proposals to redevelop the former La Salette Catholic School on Coolidge into multiple-family residential housing. FERNDALE • Tucked between I-696 and train tracks at the Ferndale-Pleasant Ridge border, Iron Ridge Marketplace is an evolving entertainment and retail destination at 404 E. 10 Mile Road. The $35-million brownfield redevelopment project is on the site of a decaying 1940s wire factory with 231,000 square feet of vacant space. Started in October 2017, a fitness center is open, and food, a brewery and other attractions are coming. Urbanrest Brewing Co., in Ferndale since 2017, is a few blocks south of Iron Ridge Marketplace. ROYAL OAK • The city will see completion this year of the Woodward Corners by Beaumont project on Woodward at 13 Mile. Henry Ford Health System’ s high-tech outpatient medical center will occupy the downtown Royal Oak City Center by April 2020. • “Rethink” Royal Oak is a development project to build a new city hall, police station, downtown park, private office building and 581-space park- ing deck. The project will transform the down- town area to a gathering place for the entire city as well as provide necessary updates to build- ings designed more than 60 years ago. Corridor Snapshots Horwitz family: Micah, 2, Miriam, Jonah, 4, and Dan. jews d in the Jason and Nechama Lurie continued on page 18