You pave Paradise, put up a parking lot

Singer Joni Mitchell once lived in the Verona Apartments, at 92 W. Ferry St., with her husband, folk singer Chuck Mitchell . Joni wrote many of her most iconic songs in the elegant Romanesque Revival-style building and referred to it as a "tenement castle" in one song. The Verona was built as luxury apartments for Detroit elites in the 1890s. Much of the neighborhood is gone, and now the Verona is in danger. "A developer purchased all these buildings starting in 2002, and he wants to tear it all down for a dormitory development," says University Cultural Center president Susan Mosey . For a high-rise, no less.

Chuck Mitchell, now living in Iowa, and many others have been lobbying to have the development stopped. Mosey's group has applied to have 19 buildings, including the Verona, declared a local historic district, which would stop the tear-down. "The neighborhood is opposed to (the dormitory); we feel there are other places they could build without jeopardizing these buildings," Mosey said. Now the matter goes to Detroit City Council on July 8 for a public hearing.