Rare Mid-Century Modern House Designed by Twin Towers Architects Lists for $2.89 Million

A rare Michigan home designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the visionary architect behind New York City’s original World Trade Center, has just been listed for $2.89 million.

The late Yamasaki, best known for creating the original Twin Towers, which tragically fell during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, designed this gem in 1957, long before his career-defining project in Lower Manhattan.

The 3,700-square-foot home, located at 5280 Brookdale Road, features six bedrooms, three bathrooms and sits on 2.64 acres.

With its flat roof, wide windows, and open floor plan, this ranch-style home embodies Yamasaki’s distinctive modernist style, featuring the same clean lines and understated elegance that he later used to create the Twin Towers. .

The house, located in Bloomfield Hills near Detroit, has been owned since 1988 by Sameer Eid, the restaurateur behind the Phenicia and Forest restaurants in Birmingham, as well as Leila in downtown Detroit.

Eid bought the house after an unforgettable conversation with a friend at one of his restaurants. For more than three decades, he raised his family in this architectural treasure, preserving its simplicity and serenity.

“It’s perfect and easy to live in,” Eid told Crains Detroit, noting the home’s spacious, one-story floor plan.

Beyond the home’s historical and architectural significance, it is located in a sought-after area where new development is booming.

The property is listed by Dylan Tent of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty.

Tenti speculates that the property could attract a buyer looking to preserve Yamasaki’s design or potentially build a new property.

“You could put a massive, beautiful property on that lot,” Tenti suggested, hinting at the growing trend of tearing down midcentury homes for new construction in the neighborhood.

The home’s backyard once boasted over 50 trees, including a century-old oak tree believed to be the oldest in Oakland County, which fell after years of decay.

Taking it away, Eid said, “it broke my heart.”