A view of multi-million dollar houses next to a smaller home on Doxtator Street.

DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A drive down Doxtator Street will literally turn heads, as it is lined with towering mansions only seen in the most affluent cities in Michigan.

Running parallel to Ford Road near Beech Daly, an intersection known to be among the busiest due to the many popular businesses and shops located there, the street is home to several multi-million dollar houses.

The city of Dearborn Heights, however, has planned to turn some homes on Ford Road into commercial properties. These businesses will soon be built right behind the backyards of the mansions and many residents are wondering how the project might affect both their homes’ values and the city.

Six years ago, three mansions were erected on Doxtator. Several neighboring small to mid-size homes were subsequently torn down to make way for additional mansions. Today, the street is more known for its new, massive homes than the smaller, older ones. 

“This is the biggest house I’ve ever seen in real life,” said an astonished mailman who wished to remain anonymous, as he gazed upon one of the homes.

Houses for sale on Ford Road to be replaced business.

Mohamed Sobh, the city’s building and engineering director, said hundreds of concerned community members have approached him about the project. But he said residents have nothing to worry about.

The houses behind the mansions are currently for sale and only a few of them have been bought, Sobh added. That residential area will be converted into a central commercial zone, allowing a mixture of residential and commercial properties to be built.

“We don’t have a say on who should buy them and who should not,” Sobh said. “But we do have a say in what type of a business would be allowed to go there.”

He said when the homes, ranging from $700,000 to $950,000, were placed on the market, some potential buyers inquired about building a used car lot and a gas station, but were quickly turned down.

“When you have a lot of multi-million dollar homes on Doxtator and somebody wants to put a used car lot in the back of it, what happens to the property?” Sobh asked.

He added that the development decision was made because of the traffic problems caused by cars backing out of their homes onto Ford Road. The commercial zone could also add to the existing business hub surrounding it, allowing for economic expansion in the city.

Mayor Daniel Paletko told The Arab American News that he foresees the intersection of Ford and Beech Daly developing into a downtown with the construction of the commercial zone.

However, to prevent the Doxtator mansions’ property values from decreasing, the city will “restrict somewhat the kind of commercial enterprise that could go on because it abuts residential,” Paletko said.

The mayor said the “beautiful” mansions show that the city is becoming a place where people would want to reside, work and play, but he acknowledged the complaints he often hears from residents about the larger houses dwarfing the smaller ones.

He also said residents cannot survive in this community unless they’re willing to make investments in their homes. 

“It’s a fact of life and in order for us to be a viable community, we have to allow for change,” he said.

He added that community development allows for satisfactory police, fire and other services provided by the city.

According to Community Development Director Ron Amen, Ford Road was the subject of a study three years ago. The results showed that the average speed on the road during rush hours was 25 mph. The speed limit is 40 mph. The study also revealed that more rear end collisions occurred at the intersection of Ford and Beech Daly than any other in the state.

Amen said the remedy was to eliminate the 15 driveways in one block of the homes facing Ford. He added that several suggestions were made to build a separate service drive with limited entrances and exits on either side of the road.

The goal is to speed up traffic and cut down on the number of collisions, Amen said.

Amen said the project will be positive for the city and also urged residents not to be alarmed by the construction of new businesses, as a wall will likely be built to separate the businesses and the homes on the other side.