The Detroit River is a gem.

And thanks to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the Detroit side of the river is developing its potential as a recreation destination.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

So is Belle Isle.

It's now a state park, with Gabriel Richard Park at the foot of the bridge along East Jefferson Avenue. About 2 million people visited the 980-acre island in its first year under Department of Natural Resources oversight, when a number of improvements and repairs were launched.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

More riverfront recreation development is planned.

The city and the riverfront conservancy announced early this month that it plans significant changes to eastern riverfront - they even include creating an urban beach near Chene Park. But further east, as it gets close to East Grand Boulevard, a new greenway path will be built, connecting that east side neighborhood to the river.

At the same time, East Jefferson - the main east-west route that follows the river from the Renaissance Center to the Grosse Pointed - also will be upgraded to to include protected bike lanes, buffers for pedestrians and a reduction of the total number of lanes.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

Yet the question in Detroit is always: What about the neighborhoods?

Detroit is still a city balancing rapid redevelopment downtown with slowly rebounding real estate market - and 90,000 vacant houses.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

Here is a place where redevelopment will be touching a neighborhood.

This is a row of four townhouses on East Grand Boulevard, three blocks from East Jefferson. If you stand on the sidewalk you can see the Detroit River - right where cars turn to reach Belle Isle. That's what gives the area its name: Islandview.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

The real estate listing sign in this photo is unique for this property: It's owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority. And that "owner of last resort" in the city saw particular value in this property - so it hired O'Connor Realty of Detroit to market it, after a bid process. It's one of the first 'real' listings of land bank property in the city.

"We thought it was important to get the real estate community involved in some sales to see if we can generate interest in these areas," said Craig Fahle, land bank spokesperson. So instead of heading to auction on the land bank web site, this property is listed with a Realtor and reaching a wider audience.

"We’re seeing interest in a lot of neighborhoods in the city that in couple of years ago might not have attracted much," Fahle said.

"… This just seemed to be a smart way to do this."

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

Bill Swanson of O'Connor Realty is the listing agent.

He's not just selling the buildings. They are three abandoned townhouses that surround a fourth, which is still occupied and still privately owned. The listing, priced at $105,000, includes four vacant lots on St. Paul.

Swanson also is a neighbor. He lives a few blocks from it in West Village.

He's seeing tremendous interest in this area. "Every property," he said, describing the southern end of Islandview area to West Village, "is either in use or someone owns it and is rehabbing it."

Interest in the property has increased "tremendously" over the last couple of years, he said.

"Now there's a lot more interest in East Grand Boulevard."

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From Loveland Technologies

This map shows the area - and the purple spots are land bank properties.

The southern end has very few. That wider white line running near the center is East Grand Boulevard.

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From Loveland Technologies

By comparison, here are Land Bank properties in West Village. It's sparse.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

Here's an example of a rehab just a few blocks away.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

And here is a pending rehab.

This is the door to the closed school at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, where the church remains open on Baldwin at St. Paul. Banyan Investments, a Detroit-based development company, is working with city agencies to pursue turning the property into housing.

A larger development group, The Platform, is planning on doing work in Islandview. It is one of the neighborhoods that the company wants to invest in - and encourage others alongside it - while it also does larger-scale projects in Midtown and the New Center area.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

This is the northern edge of the townhouses for sale on East Grand Boulevard. You can just see the St. Charles steeple in the center of this. It looks closer in person.

"There is a lot of development and investment coming around that neighborhood - and including that neighborhood," Swanson said of the first blocks of East Grand Boulevard.

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City of Detroit

The Detroit land bank also owns this, two blocks closer to East Jefferson.

It's planning a sale for redevelopment here, too.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

This property on the street caught my eye.

It's not the biggest, the oldest or the newest (there are newer buildings that have been developed nearby). And it's not in the worst shape. I just like the spirit of this building, with the wide windows and steps, the pillars, the balcony. It speaks to me as an older urban mid-rise apartment.I could see this being a gem in Chicago or New York - and, maybe, someday in Detroit.

Many of these order buildings have been converted to nursing homes and other group living situations in this area.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

This also caught my attention nearby.

This is a block east, right behind the townhouses. It shows how the area has more height to it than many other neighborhoods in the city. And multifamily properties are the norm here, though not in a high-density, downtown format. That can add value for a developer seeking to maximize a number of units. It's also good for a municipality, which gets more tax revenue from multifamily properties.

This also shows some of the vacant land nearby. It's kind a "perfect storm" for someone with a vision.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

These townhouses aren't in great shape.

Here is a photo that I took from the front lawn. Despite the open-air aspects of the windows, I've seen much worse in the city. The interiors - which were single-family residences, not apartments - fill three floors plus basements. They've been vacant for several years.

With the sale listing, Fahle said, any offer must come with a redevelopment agreement so that the city can weigh in on plans for the buildings and adjacent land.

"There's enough value in the property that it makes sense to rehab them," Swanson said.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

This is the one excluded from the listing.

It's surrounded by abandoned ones.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

And here is the rear of the property. The yellow brick building next door also is appears vacant, but not part of the listing. City records list is as occupied, but subject to foreclosure.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

Here's a building closeup. (I really just wanted to show the cat.)

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

The townhouses come with four city lots facing St. Paul, around the corner. This is a photo of the alley to the rear of the parcels that are listed.

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Paula Gardner | PaulaGardner@mlive.com

So far, one offer has been received on the townhouses.

The listing agent, Bill Swanson, says the offer will be evaluated by the land bank. In the meantime, he may see additional offers.

"There's a steady stream of people viewing the property," he told me last week. Some are familiar names to him; others are new to the area.

During the time the vacant East Grand Boulevard property is redeveloped, more investment will flow in West Village. At the same, the city's work on the nearby riverfront is expected to coincide with the residential projects.

That convergence of riverfront, real estate and redevelopment is one answer for the question, "What about Detroit's neighborhoods?"

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Here are some more articles that I've written on Detroit real estate:

Top 12: Diamonds in the rough in Detroit real estate

'Eye-popping damage' in Detroit turns to renovation and spot on 'This Old House'

Think you'll buy a home in Midtown? Here's what you'll find for sale