Neighbors irked by planned cubic home

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BIRMINGHAM, Mich., April 5 (UPI) -- Neighbors of a planned cubic home in Michigan say they don't want to live next to "a big, white, giant ice cube."

James Mirro of Birmingham said the concrete 7,200-square-foot home planned by Linda Dresner, a fashion designer whose clients include Gloria Vanderbilt and Scarlett Johansson, would not fit in with the neighborhood's traditional wood, brick and stone residences, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

"It's so extreme that we could not approve it," said Mirro, who unsuccessfully lobbied officials to block construction of the home.

Neighbor Laura Smith, who has lived in the area for 50 years, agreed.

"To have a big, white, giant ice cube at one end of the street," she said, "it is just going to be jarring."

However, a Birmingham city official said he expects a building permit to be issued for Dresner's home in the coming days, allowing for construction to be completed by the end of the summer.