2 Royal Oak Buildings Called 'Game-Changing' for Oakland County

Two Royal Oak buildings recently were recognized as examples of constructions that have energized the metro area.

The Main Street Lofts designed by Neumann/Smith Architecture and architect Frank Arvan's home and studio on E. Fifth Street were among the 12 buildings selected as "game-changing" by Prosper, an online newsletter about economic development in Oakland County.

• "The whole idea of bringing residential development to the center cities of Royal Oak, of downtown Birmingham, of Ferndale, all of these nice little downtowns, is something that has been a great move in the Detroit metropolitan area," writes Kelly Deines, design principal, Rossetti, of the Main Street Lofts. "The infusion of residential properties has really allowed the downtowns to flourish and come back."
• "It's not apologetic about how it contrasts," writes Stu Pettitt, principal, Straub Pettitt Yaste Architects, of Arvan's house. "With the unorthodox use of materials in a residential area, he's found a way to almost camouflage, or take your eye off, what the material is, because it's used in a way that's still recognizably residential. But once you get up close you realize it's a concrete façade on a very traditional front porch."

Read "A Dozen Game-Changing Buildings in Metro Detroit."