Please let the City of Farmington know that you support preserving the hundred-year-old Queen Anne houses at Grand River and Grove Street, and redeveloping only the area behind them. 

Elegant, Victorian-style homes. A historic downtown. A Norman Rockwell-type community in the Metro Detroit suburbs. Farmington’s older and historic buildings are key to the community’s civic persona. 

One good example is a row of four Victorian homes-turned-businesses—all occupied—at Grand River and Grove Streets, forming the east entrance to downtown. Although outside the historic district, they play an important role in setting the tone for Farmington’s historic downtown, central to our city’s identity.

But under the new Farmington Downtown Area Plan, Farmington is at risk of losing these houses—and part of its identity as a historic downtown.

The plan, adopted in September 2015, threatens the Queen Anne houses with removal or demolition as part of an adjacent redevelopment project. The houses would be replaced with apartments, retail space, and a parking structure—permanently and drastically altering the look and feel of the downtown area.

We as Preservation Farmington think that would be a big mistake.

It’s important to make a distinction: We’re not against redevelopment, especially if it’s going to bring people downtown to live. But we object to doing it at the expense of what makes our town unique.

Please let the City of Farmington know that you support preserving the hundred-year-old Queen Anne houses at Grand River and Grove Street, and redeveloping only the area behind them.

We call upon decision makers at the City of Farmington to:  

• reject plans that replace these buildings
• pursue redevelopment that preserves older and historic architecture
• keep in mind that Farmington’s historic downtown is key to its individuality

Saving these buildings in situ keeps the city on track with its long-range goals. It helps Farmington live up to its standards as an accredited Main Street community.

And it preserves the stories that give our residents a sense of place, which comes with knowing they are part of a long line of people who have made the city what it is today.