OUR COMMUNITY

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16 | AUGUST 31 • 2023 

ON THE COVER

Herkowitz said, offers “best-in-class design, 
which takes inspiration from the traditional 
brick industrial buildings of Corktown and 
merges with a contemporary esthetic.” 
Residents will enjoy a full range of onsite 
amenities and year-round activities, and they 
and visitors will have access to more than 
12,000 square feet of retail space. Perennial 
Corktown is located near the 227-room, 
seven-story Godfrey Hotel Detroit, at 1401 
Michigan, another Hunter Pasteur devel-
opment in partnership with Oxford Capital 
Group and the fifth Godfrey property nation-
ally. It is set to open this month. Hunter 
Pasteur’s final project in Corktown is the Red 
Arrow Lofts. A former storage building will be 
turned into 28 apartments, with construction 
expected at year’s end.

RESTORING BUILDINGS 
TO THEIR FORMER GLORY
“We are blessed that developers in our area 
are not just ripping down the old buildings 
but restoring them to their prior glory,” said 
Nachman, adding that he “especially liked 
seeing what’s going on at the old Michigan 
Central train station. The imposing building in 
Corktown was “decrepit and could have been 
taken down many times.”
When Ford Motor Company bought the 
station and the adjoining Book Depository in 
2018, the automotive manufacturer envisioned 
creating a futuristic mobility innovation hub. It 
would be a platform for “engineers, entrepre-
neurs, thought leaders, researchers, artists and 

R

abbi Aaron Starr, spiritu-
al leader at Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek (CSZ), 
approached communal-minded 
member Joy Nachman last year about 
sponsoring new programming. Starr 
wanted something that would specif-
ically benefit the many active retirees 
attending the Southfield synagogue. 
The result was Coffee House, a lec-
ture series intended “to expand their 
minds,” said Nachman. The series, 
focused on learning and community, 
is open to CSZ members and others 
in Metro Detroit, age 60 and up. 
Director of Engagement Alaine 

(Waldshan) Ashkenazi is the CSZ 
staff working with a host committee 
to plan eight in-person programs a 
year. The most recent Coffee House 
on Aug. 21 presented University of 
Michigan History Professor Deborah 
Dash Moore on the topic, “Jews on 
the Move: Mobility in Motown,” a 
discussion of Jewish migratory pat-
terns in southeast Michigan. 
Coffee House is now on hiatus for 
the High Holidays and will be again 
the winter months of January through 
March. The series will resume around 
Passover. The programs, usually 
attracting 80-100 guests, include a 

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Coffee 
House at 
Congregation 
Shaarey 
Zedek

