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Some of you may recall a post I did a while back about Habitat for Humanity taking building materials out of my childhood home before it met the wrecking ball.

We sold the house in 2003, and it is looking like the new home on the site is nearing completion. Quite a change from the home I knew as 600 Lakeside, Birmingham, MI 48009. In fact, not even the address remains. Now the city has ‘retired’ 600 and given the home the address of 620 Lakeside. I think they stopped forwarding my mail a few years ago anyway. And another step toward complete transformation of the property.

When I lived there, our home was about 2,700 square feet. The new home is over 7,000, though I wonder if they are including the basement in the square footage. As a tear down, the house was listed for $800,000 in 2003. Today, the new home is $2,700,000.

I am not sure how far along they are now but here is the description:

Luxury living at its best! Enjoy this four bedroom home with five full and two half baths, a spacious family room, elegant living room, library with rich appointments, formal dining room, two-car attached garage, apartment above garage, five fireplaces locations, finished basement with bar, kitchenette and full bath.

Not a bad looking home at all, and it still has the priceless view of Quarton Lake that could not be bulldozed. The funny thing is that when I look at this picture, I still see MY house sitting on that lot, sandwiched between the two gracious 1920’s colonials. I envision my dad calling the ducks and the geese on to our front lawn to entertain house guests. My brother and his friends intentionally jumping their bikes off of ramps and splashing in to the lake. My mother cajoling us into having our picture taken on the front porch on milestones like Paul’s first day of school, my first communion, my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary and our graduations. And me, personalizing the purple walls of my bedroom with my own version of graffiti. The trees are gone, the house is gone, but my memories live on.

Technorati Tags: birmingham mi, birmingham mi real estate, habitat for humanity

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Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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