Home / service area / GROSSE POINTE
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.
4.9 stars
Over 100 reviews
5 year
Warranty on our workmanship
2014
Founded, and building here since
100%
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.
$65,000 – $300,000+
02 - Bathrooms
Primary suites and guest baths, with waterproofing and a flood-tested pan on every shower.
$30,000 – $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
Remodeling a Grosse Pointe Home: What to Expect
01
Classic homes deserve a careful plan
Many Grosse Pointe homes are well built older homes with plaster walls, original millwork and generous rooms. When we open walls we often find old wiring, galvanized or cast iron pipe and framing that has moved over the decades. We plan for this during design, and we protect the millwork and details that make these homes worth owning.
02
Each Pointe has its own rules
Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores each run their own building department. Some also have historic districts. Historic district review applies to exterior changes, so most kitchen, bath and basement work goes through normal permits. We confirm your community's requirements at the start of design.
03
Interior work still needs permits
Moving plumbing, adding a bath, rewiring a kitchen or finishing a basement means building and trade permits through your city. We pull every permit and schedule every inspection for you.
04
Design comes first, and your home stays livable
Every project starts with one to three months of design development, so layout, cabinetry, finishes and pricing are settled before demolition. During construction we protect your floors, seal the work area for dust, run negative air, clean up every day and send you a written update every week.
05
One team from start to finish
Every trade except plumbing, electrical and HVAC is Maxwell's own crew, and our licensed partners handle those three. Your designer and project manager stay with you from the first sketch to the final walkthrough, and the work is backed by a five year workmanship warranty.
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.
Good to know
GROSSE POINTE faq
How long does a kitchen or bathroom remodel take in Grosse Pointe?
Most projects take 14 to 16 weeks of construction after one to three months of design. A single bathroom often takes less time. A kitchen with a new layout takes longer.
Do I need a permit to remodel in Grosse Pointe?
Yes, if the work touches plumbing, electrical, mechanical or structure. Each Pointe issues its own permits, and we handle every permit and inspection as part of the project.
Can you update my kitchen without losing the character of an older home?
Yes. We design new kitchens and baths around the home's original trim, proportions and details. Our own millwork carpenters can match or rebuild trim so the new space looks like it belongs.
Can we live in the house while you remodel?
Usually, yes. We seal off the work area, control dust and clean up daily. For a kitchen remodel we help you set up a temporary kitchen so daily life keeps going.
What does it take to finish a basement in Grosse Pointe?
Any basement bedroom needs a legal exit, called egress. You also need moisture control and permitted electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. Older basements here often have low ceilings, old plumbing or walls that need work before finishing, and we check all of this during design.
Do you provide interior design and cabinetry?
Yes. Our design team handles layout, finishes, lighting and fixtures, and we build with Dura Supreme cabinetry in the framed Crestwood and frameless Bria lines. You work with one team from design through installation.
Planning a renovation
in GROSSE POINTES?