Ransom Gillis Tour: 2000 Visitors, Two Brand New Duplex Spaces

Sunday's public tour of Ransom Gillis House drew over two thousand visitors, many of whom waited in up to five hours in lines that snaked for blocks around the Alfred Street home. Yesterday, we spared readers the wait (or helped them relive the memories) with a large set of photographs of Ransom Gillis house's exterior and interior shots of the front unit of the newly subdivided mansion. Curbed also toured the 1876 Brush Park mainstay, restored over the last five months by HGTV star Nicole Curtis. While you'll need to tune into her show, The Rehab Addict Thursday night at 9 pm to hear Curtis herself explain the restoration process, we have Curbed exclusive photographs of the whole place, and today we're sharing our images of the second unit.

The front unit at Ransom Gillis tends to get the lion's share of attention—after all, it has the famous turret and the round stained glass window. It's also slightly larger, and its main floor has a full dining room. The rear unit may not have these features, but it has its own unique charm, with a large, sunny living room, several fireplaces, and many small nook-like spaces perfect for curling up with a good book. While there's no separate dining room, the kitchen in the rear unit is large enough for a full dining table, and could easily fit a dozen guests. There's also a huge fireplace in the eating area, making the space feel homey and grand all at the same time.

Upstairs, two of the three bedrooms are reasonably large, while the third would work well as a child's room (and is staged that way) or as an office. The closets are enormous, almost rooms in and of themselves, and the two upstairs baths feature white honeycomb tile, a clawfoot tub, and large stall showers with custom glass enclosures. This unit also has direct access to what should be the backyard, though it's currently mostly gravel, with just a small bit of grass fairly close to the house itself. We're curious to know what Quicken Loans, the building's owner, will do to truly finish the property. As it currently stands, there's no garage, no off-street parking at all, and almost no hospitable outdoor space to speak of.

Quicken Loans president Jay Farner, on hand for Sunday's tour, refused to say what the company had invested in Ransom Gillis, or what they'd put into Brush Park as a whole. He did say that the units would likely be rentals to start with, but that the company hoped to eventually sell them…for a price he also refused to estimate. Ransom Gillis is the centerpiece of 8.5 acres of redevelopment in Brush Park, much of it guided by the Quicken Loans team. Dan Gilbert's company also paid for the restoration after purchasing the property at auction.

·Ransom Gillis Open House Draws Massive Crowd [Curbed Detroit]
·Nicole Curtis Talks to Curbed about Ransom Gillis [Curbed Detroit]
·Media Tour of Ransom Gillis Highlights Renewal [Curbed Detroit]
·Dan Gilbert Sponsors Nicole Curtis Rehab of Ransom Gillis House [Curbed Detroit]