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DESIGN-BUILD IN THE GROSSE POINTES, MICHIGAN
GROSSE POINTE HOMES, AND THE FIVE COMMUNITIES BEHIND THE NAME.
Designed, sourced & built under one roof.
There are five Grosse Pointes; Park, City, Farms, Woods and Shores, and each has its own building department, its own zoning ordinance and its own rules. Knowing which one you are in is the first and most consequential fact about your project.
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5 year
Warranty on our workmanship
2014
Founded in Metro Detroit
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In-house design, source & build
Local design-build
Five municipalities, one name, and no shared rulebook.
Grosse Pointe Park is the southernmost and densest, bordering Detroit, with a median house from 1935 and the Windmill Pointe estates platted in 1916. The City of Grosse Pointe is the smallest by land, heavily built between 1910 and 1930, largely on fifty-foot-wide lots. Grosse Pointe Farms holds Beverly Road, one of the few private streets, platted by Henry B. Joy in 1911.
Grosse Pointe Woods is the largest by population and the newest, built out mostly around and after the Second World War, and the only one of the five without Lake St. Clair frontage. Grosse Pointe Shores is the smallest by population, ninety-four percent water, and spans two counties.
Locals identify by street rather than subdivision here, Lake Shore Road, Windmill Pointe Drive, Provencal, Beverly, Lochmoor. The French ribbon farms are still visible in the street names.
WHAT WE BUILD IN THE GROSSE POINTES
Services
01 - Kitchens
Custom cabinetry in Tudor and Colonial Revival houses, detailed to the period.
$110,000 – $300,000+
02 - Bathrooms
Primary suites and guest baths, with waterproofing and a flood-tested pan on every shower.
$70,000 – $200,000+
03 - Additions
Additions on tight lots with narrow side yards, designed to match the original architecture.
$250,000 – $900,000+
04 - Whole-home
Full renovations of pre-war houses with their detailing intact.
$600,000 – $2,000,000+
Ranges shown are typical for Grosse Pointe. Full tier-by-tier pricing is on each cost guide.
BUILDING IN GROSSE POINTE
What Building Here Actually Involves
01
WHICH POINTE YOU ARE IN DECIDES EVERYTHING
Park, City, Farms, Woods and Shores each run their own building department with their own phone number, their own zoning ordinance and their own permit requirements. There is no shared department and very little shared rulebook. The first thing we establish is which municipality the address sits in, because every number after that depends on it.
02
ONLY GROSSE POINTE FARMS HAS AN ACTIVE HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
The Farms adopted its historic districts ordinance in 1999 and maintains four local districts, including Beverly Road. A Certificate of Appropriateness is required before exterior changes visible from public property, including roof, window, door and porch replacement, material changes, and painting previously unpainted masonry. The Commission meets the second Wednesday, with submissions at least two weeks ahead. The City of Grosse Pointe studied a proposed estate district in 2021 but the council suspended the study and no district was adopted.
03
GROSSE POINTE WOODS PERMITS AN UNUSUALLY BROAD LIST OF WORK
The Woods requires permits for re-roofing, aluminium or vinyl siding, masonry chimney and fireplace rebuilds, fences, pools, sidewalks, driveways, porches, decks and awnings, alongside additions and alterations. Certificates of occupancy are required on change of ownership as well as new construction, which matters on a pre-sale renovation.
04
SIDE YARDS ARE VERY TIGHT IN THE SOUTHERN POINTES
The City of Grosse Pointe was built largely on fifty-foot lots, and Grosse Pointe Park’s residential side yards run as little as three to five feet depending on district. Side additions in the Park are generally not possible without a variance, and rear or upward work is usually the realistic route.
05
LAKEFRONT WORK BRINGS THE STATE INTO IT
Michigan requires a soil erosion permit for any earth change within 500 feet of a lake or stream regardless of size, and four of the five Pointes front Lake St. Clair. Seawalls, docks, hoists and shoreline structures require separate state permitting on top of the municipal permit.
Requirements change and each community differs. Confirm current specifics with the relevant building department before relying on any of the above: Grosse Pointe Park, City of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Shores.
where we work
WHERE WE WORK IN THE GROSSE POINTES
We build across all five communities: Park, City, Farms, Woods and Shores
WINDMILL POINTE
THE VILLAGE
BEVERLY ROAD
PROVENCAL ROAD
LAKE SHORE ROAD
LOCHMOOR
MCKINLEY PLACE
THREE MILE DRIVE
GROSSE POINTE BOULEVARD
KERCHEVAL
DODGE PLACE
HAMPTON ROAD
straight answer
Tell us the street, and we will tell you the rules.
The five Pointes differ more than their shared name suggests. A Certificate of Appropriateness in the Farms, a re-roofing permit in the Woods, a three-foot side yard in the Park, the same project takes a different path in each.
The housing differs too. Median build years run from 1935 in the Park to 1957 in the Shores, and median lot sizes from under 7,000 square feet in the Woods to over 13,000 in the Shores. A page that treated all five as one place would be wrong about most of them.
We don't reface cabinets and we don't paint them. We're the right fit when a pre-war house deserves new cabinetry and millwork detailed to match what is already there.
4.8 stars
Average customer review
2014
Founded in Metro Detroit
Old Woodward
Our office, in Birmingham
100%
In-house design, source & build
Good to know
GROSSE POINTE faq
Which Grosse Pointe am I in?
Park, City, Farms, Woods or Shores, and it genuinely matters. Each has its own building department, zoning ordinance and permit requirements. We confirm the municipality at the first visit before quoting anything.
Do I need historic district approval?
Only in Grosse Pointe Farms, which maintains four local historic districts including Beverly Road and requires a Certificate of Appropriateness for exterior changes visible from public property. The other four communities have no local historic district commission that we have found, though we confirm per address.
Do I need a permit to re-roof?
In Grosse Pointe Woods, yes, along with siding, chimney rebuilds, driveways, porches, decks and fences. The Woods permits a notably broader list of work than most communities in our service area.
Can I add on to the side of my house?
In the Park and the City, usually not without a variance. Side yards there run as little as three to five feet and the lots are often fifty feet wide. Rear additions and second-storey work are the realistic routes.
I am on the lake. What extra approvals apply?
Michigan requires a soil erosion permit for any earth change within 500 feet of the water regardless of size, and seawalls, docks and shoreline structures need separate state permitting. Both belong in the schedule from the start.
Are you licensed and insured in Michigan?
Yes — licensed Michigan residential builder, Lic. 2102213502, fully insured, with our office on Old Woodward in Birmingham.
Planning a renovation
in GROSSE POINTES?