Four-block Dunedin Street sits near the intersection of West Grand and Rosa Parks boulevards. Herz said he wants to eventually bring infill housing and retail to the stretch that borders the LaSalle Gardens neighborhood.

The Munich native began to invest in Detroit after he studied its real estate landscape while visiting for two weeks for his master's degree thesis in 2015.

His fascination with the city began much earlier, with reading for sixth grade English, he said. But it turned toward a livelihood after he designed three mixed-use construction options for a then-vacant parcel at 28 W. Grand River Ave. (now Bedrock LLC's 28Grand) in downtown Detroit's Capitol Park. The thesis aimed to show what kind of "economically feasible" options were possible for the land, with data drawn from interviews and research, as part of a project with the advocacy initiative Opportunity Detroit.

In its course, he crossed from civil engineer into the realms of architect and developer. He saw opportunities in the city for which he had come to care. Then he convinced his brother to join him.

They toured Detroit for a month in the summer of 2016 and then made the leap, bringing $750,000 in equity from Germany. Herz said they have also taken on Detroit area investors, who he declined to identify.