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Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The Tudor-Revival house in Detroit’s historic Palmer Woods neighborhood was built in 1929.
A mansion steeped in Detroit history — built for a president of Chevrolet and once owned by a son of the creator of Sanders Bumpy Cake — is now available for a new owner.
Located in the city’s historic Palmer Woods neighborhood and sometimes called the Marvin E. Coyle House and sometimes the Sanders home, the nearly 10,000-square-foot mansion has been the residence of the Doss family for more than 30 years.
Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The 1929 Palmer Woods mansion includes numerous original elements, including a grand marble foyer with marble stairs and marble baseboard trim.
Lawrence Doss, who founded the racial equity coalition group New Detroit Inc., died in 2001. His wife, Judith — a former chemist and director of medical services for Exxon Mobil — continued to live in the home — largely alone — until her death earlier this year. The home, listing for sale on Wednesday at an asking price of $1.55 million, is ready for its next chapter, said Seif Thompson-Doss, Judith’s son and Lawrence’s stepson, who grew up in the house starting in the late 1980s.
The home was a frequent hub of activity, Thompson-Doss recalls, from large family gatherings to holiday parties that included the likes of former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young.
Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The second-floor hallway features an ornate railing.
While still a Detroit resident in the Palmer Woods neighborhood, Thompson-Doss said he’s ready for someone else to put their mark on the home.
“I feel like it’s somebody else’s dream now,” he said of the home and the decision to sell. “I have so many … fond memories. I’m interested to see what type of person is going to pick this place up and what they’re going to do with it.”
At nearly a century old and 10,000 square feet across several floors — including a partially finished basement and large upper level — the home needs some care and updating. Visiting on a humid mid-July day, the lack of central air conditioning was noticeable. Various shades of carpet cover hardwood floors in many rooms.
Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The Tudor-Revival home in Palmer Woods was designed by R. Arthur Bailey.
The Tudor-Revival home was designed by R. Arthur Bailey, who was the architect behind several other homes in the Palmer Woods area. It was originally built in 1929 for Marvin Coyle, who would go on to be a top executive at General Motors’ Chevrolet brand.
Later, the home was owned by Fred Sanders Jr., son of the founder of Sanders Confectionery Co., best known as the maker of Bumpy Cake and other sweet treats.
The home offers numerous original elements: a grand marble foyer with marble stairs and marble baseboard trim, slate roof, plaster moldings, terrazzo flooring in some rooms, a stained glass chandelier and a cedarwood-lined walk-in closet. Five of the eight bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms.
Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The 1929 Palmer Woods mansion retains a grand fireplace and wood paneling.
There’s also a swimming pool in the backyard and a jacuzzi and sauna room in the basement.
Potential high-end buyers in the Palmer Woods neighborhood — near Woodward Avenue and Seven Mile Road — do have a handful of other options. That includes a large mansion that’s been fully restored that hit the market in February and carries an asking price of $1.7 million (down from nearly $1.9 million); and the 15,000-square-foot Alfred J. Fisher mansion at an asking price of $7 million, which hit the market in late March.
Austin Black, a Detroit-based Realtor with @Properties Christie’s International Real Estate, is the listing agent. He has considerable experience with such homes: large, in desirable Detroit neighborhoods and having some degree of historic significance.
Credit: Stylish Detroit Real Estate Photography
The brick Tudor-Revival home was designed by R. Arthur Bailey, who was the architect behind several other homes in the Palmer Woods area. It was built in 1929.
For instance, last year the Realtor completed a 10-month process to sell the 11,000-square-foot, Albert Kahn-designed Benjamin Siegel Mansion in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood, which ultimately sold for just less than $2 million, about 22% below its listing price.
Selling such homes, Black said, does tend to take time, but estimating a time frame proves difficult. Such homes tend to attract a very specific type of buyer, who may not even be in the market until a house lists.
“These are the types of homes that the buyer is not looking to move,” Black said. “They’re looking to move to the right house.”
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