Healthy Home Assessments in Garden City

Garden City, house by house

Wayne County suburb patterned after the English garden city concept, with home sites first sectioned into one-acre plots for family farming; became a village in 1927 and a city in 1933. A local distinction: Site of the world's first Kmart store, opened March 1, 1962. Roughly 26,920 residents live across about 10,279 households. Garden City became a village within Nankin Township in June 1927, with Arnold Folker as its first Village President.

What the numbers say

Census five-year estimates through 2023 put 88.6% of housing units in detached single-family homes and 79.2% of occupied units with their owners. Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher come to 14.6%. The building record here reaches back to 1866, and an older envelope moves air and holds moisture on its own terms. Also on the ground: The Garden City Tower, a prominent local high-rise.

At 88.6% detached single-family construction the envelope is the building, so it is read as one system.

Landmarks and public space in Garden City:

• The Straight Farmhouse. Farmhouse built around 1866 by Daniel Straight at 6221 Merriman Road; home of the Garden City Historical Museum, Lathers General Store, and Grande Parlour.
• Site of the world's first Kmart. The first Kmart opened March 1, 1962 at 29600 Ford Road at Middlebelt; the store operated until 2017.
• Original Little Caesars pizzeria. The first Little Caesars location opened in Garden City in May 1959.
• Garden City Park. Central city park at Cherry Hill and Merriman; hosts the Music in the Park concert series and offers pavilion rentals.
• Radcliff Center. City recreation complex housing the Garden City Senior Center and ice arena.

Where the addresses are

Addresses fall in 48135 and 48136. Garden City is the birthplace of both the first Kmart and the first Little Caesars pizza store, and is credited with Michigan's first dine-in McDonald's.