City Agrees to Demolish Three Buildings on Michigan Avenue

By a 5-1 vote, the Dearborn City Council tonight approved a one-year preferred developer extension to Dearborn developer Hakim Fakhoury.

The vote came after nearly two hours of sometimes heated discussion in the City Council’s meeting room. The lone vote against granting the extension was cast by Councilman George Darany. Councilman Doug Thomas was absent.

The former Brothers Tuxedo building at Michigan and Howard is one of three buildings the city will demolish.

As part of the vote, the city of Dearborn agreed to demolish three of Fakhoury’s buildings along Michigan Avenue. The city will be repaid for the cost when new buildings replace the old. If the project doesn’t move forward, Fakhoury ultimately would have to foot the demolition costs. The buildings include the former Bally/Vic Tanny building, the former Giuliano’s restaurant next to Merchant’s and the former Brother’s Tuxedo building at Michigan and Howard.

Demolition of those three structures is expected to begin in the spring, removing major eyesores from along Michigan Avenue.

In casting the lone dissenting vote, Darany said he didn’t have confidence Fakhoury could move the project forward. The soon-to-be second-term councilman said he’d rather the city try and find another developer for the city parking lot.

But just who that other “developer” might be that Darany mentions is anyone’s guess. One need look no further than the Burton-Katzman mess called West Village Commons that still sits half empty or the city’s inability to attract a developer to do something with the vacant, city-owned Quality Inn at Michigan and Brady. The Quality Inn property had zero responses from developers when it was put on the market, both Councilman Robert Abraham and Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., mentioned at the meeting.

There are currently three elements for the property, according to the Economic and Community Development and city law departments: student housing, a hotel and a free standing parking deck. The Emagine Theatre could be located on the Bally/Vic Tanny site.

Fatburger's corporate office is now looking more favorably at a Dearborn location.

It is the possibility of the Emagine movie theatre coming to west Dearborn that has the corporate owners of Fatburger looking more favorably to opening a Dearborn location. At the meeting Monday night were two of the principals who said they have been working with Fakhoury for more than a year to open a Fatburger in his building at Michigan and Military.

Part of the holdup for Fatburger was that the corporate offices did not think the Dearborn location had proper “numbers” to succeed. The possibility of a movie theatre has helped change that opinion.

As for the student housing, the first phase of the project would house about 244 students with a second phase that would take the total to 432 students. The first phase of this project represents about $10-$13 million of private investment, according to the city’s law department.

Dearborn resident Hakim Fakhoury, requesting a one-year preferred developer extension that his Dearborn Village Partners (DVP) corporation has with the city of Dearborn, has support from two key businesses interested in being part of his multi-million dollar project.

An early rendering of the proposed DVP project on Michigan between Military and Howard.

Fakhoury shared copies of letters with Deepsaidwhat.com that he has from Emagine,who wants to build a movie theatre in west Dearborn, and Moravian Companies, who is interested in bringing apartment living for as many as 600 students into downtown west Dearborn.

In the letters, both addressed to Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. and the City Council, the two companies urge city leaders to grant the one-year extension to Fakhoury as a preferred developer for the property along Michigan Avenue between Howard and Military.

City Council will vote on whether to extend the agreement tonight.

“Emagine Entertainment, Inc. continues to have a real and genuine interest in participating in the project,”writes Paul A. Glantz, the founder and chairman of Emagine. “That being noted, undertaking such a project, particularly in this capital market environment, is extraordinarily complex. Accordingly, governmental cooperation in a public-private partnership will be essential to a successful outcome for this property.

“The approved brownfield plan Mr. Hakim Fakhoury has secured is a tremendous asset to the project and it forms the foundation upon which other incentives and tax-based financing mechanisms will need to be layered to help bring this project to fruition.

“In my opinion, no group is better positioned to make this important project more successful than Mr. Fakhoury. Our continued interest in pursuing this project is predicated on Mr. Fakhoury’s involvement as the manager of Dearborn Village Partners and his continued cooperation as the owner of the properties along Michigan Avenue that are a vitally important component of any successful redevelopment of this parcel.”

The letter from Moravian Companies is equally supportive.

“Our team, that includes Campus Village Communities, an experienced and successful Michigan-based student housing development and management company, has been and continues working with Dearborn Village Partners on a project to bring apartment style living, for as many as 600 students, to Downtown West Dearborn,” writes Jeffrey P. Helminski, managing partner for Moravian. “The project will be a partnership involving our team, Dearborn Village Partners, U of M-Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College. This is a tremendously complex project also involving the City of Dearborn, a hotel developer, a movie theater company and Mr. Hakim Fakhoury as the owner of a significant number of properties forming the project’s marketing window along Michigan Avenue.

“ . . . Governmental cooperation in a public-private partnership will be essential to a successful outcome for this or any project on this property. The existing approvals already in place from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which were secured in partnership with the City of Dearborn, are essential to move this project forward. My understanding is that these tax credits and reimbursement opportunities are available only to Dearborn Village Partners at that location. While changes may be possible, they would seem very unlikely given the fiscal condition of the State.

“We were attracted to this particular project because of the vision and planning of Mr. Fakhoury and Dearborn Village Partners. He controls properties vital to the success of this project and his involvement as the manager of Dearborn Village Partners is important to our continuing interest. We believe this project could be a beneficial enterprise for us and the City of Dearborn in this very difficult economy.

The prospect of increasing the customer base in this vital district will greatly benefit all of the surrounding businesses and the City of Dearborn.”

Emagine, Moravian Companies and Fakhoury, at the request of O’Reilly, were scheduled to attend the Dec. 14 City Council meeting where all residents could hear first-hand about the project, but for reasons not quite clear Council President Tom Tafelski turned that idea off and requested a special study session the following day. With such short notice, Fakhoury says neither Emagine nor Moravian officials were able to attend. The study session was not videotaped for residents to view either.

As Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham said earlier on these pages, the one-year preferred developer extension for Fakhoury’s DVP needs to be approved. Developers aren’t knocking down the door to do work in Dearborn and the Burton-Katzman mess known as the West Village Commons is perhaps a lesson why it isn’t always safe to work with developers who have no vested interest in our city.

Fakhoury is a Dearborn resident who happens to own a large portion of vacant buildings along Michigan Avenue. He definitely has a vested interest in making sure this project is a success. While some people may dislike the design of his two relatively new buildings, one at Michigan and Military and the other at Michigan and Howard, they are far better than the eyesores that were there before.

Let’s hope, as one reader of Deepsaidwhat.com said in a recent comment here, that our elected city leaders put “their egos in the closet and do this (approve the one-year preferred developer extension) for the citizens of Dearborn” and help these developers “attract new business to Dearborn.”

Last week we reported on two more former Dearborn Building and Safety employees being charged with crimes connected to their jobs (click here for that story). Now one of the former employees facing misdemeanor fraud charges is speaking out, telling the Dearborn Times Herald that he is being singled out as a scapegoat and “has nothing to hide”.

Charged wtih fraud, former Dearborn Building & Safety employee Andrew Pizzino says he did nothing wrong and is being 'singled out.'

Andrew Pizzino of Dearborn, charged with two misdemeanor counts of fraud and two misdemeanor counts of ethics violations of the city charter, tells Times-Herald writer J. Patrick Pepper that he did not commit a crime. Rather, he tells the paper he believes that he is being made a scapegoat for a practice common among his colleagues.

“You ever hear of the ethics board?” Pizzino says in the Times-Herald article. “Tell them to check everybody in the Building and Safety Department (to) see how many went to the ethics board for the purchases of houses. I think I’m being singled out for some reason.”

According to Pizzino, all building inspectors are required to report any property purchases they are considering in Dearborn so the Board of Ethics can review the sale for any conflicts of interest or improprieties. The appointed Board of Ethics committee renders advisory opinions to city officers and employees and conducts investigations into possible ethics violations, according to the city charter.

“These people were selling their house, they wanted a certain amount and I gave it to them,” Pizzino tells the Times-Herald. “(Investigators) are trying to say I did something ethically wrong.”

The fraud charges are connected to the sale of homes at 2645 Chestnut and 22858 Beech. Wayne County land records show that Pizzino purchased the Chestnut home in October 2002 for $90,000 and then sold it 11 months later for $143,400. The home on Beech was purchased in January 2004 for $100,000 and sold in June 2005 for $203,000, according to Wayne County records.

Pizzino did not tell the Times Herald whether he filed the proper reports with the city for the sale of the two homes in question.

For complete Times Herald story, click here.

Maybe it was the strong finish in his recent re-election, but if you haven’t noticed, Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham these days is clearly being more visible and communicating more with residents. We like the new energized Abraham. It is refreshing to see a council member take a position on a matter, regardless of how popular or unpopular it might be.

In his latest column, sent here and to the local papers, Abraham takes a look at the preferred developer agreement Dearborn has with developer Hakim Fakhoury, which is now up for renewal. Abraham raises some very valid points in his column; chief among them is that there isn’t a list of developers banging on Dearborn’s door to rebuild downtown West Dearborn.

Fakhoury's building at Howard and Michigan is home to Panera, which has become the new gathering place for Dearborn's coffee crowd.

Fakhoury is requesting a one-year extension that his Dearborn Village Partners (DVP) corporation has with Dearborn. (See our earlier story by clicking Here.)

As Abraham rightly points out, there is no cost to the city of Dearborn for granting the extension.

Yes, Fakhoury has corporations that own property along Michigan Avenue with unpaid taxes that he is the principal owner. But Abraham tells us that those unpaid taxes shouldn’t come into play since the preferred developer agreement only gives DVP the exclusive right to market and plan the development of the property.

Abraham tells us that if and when an actual development is reached to build on the property, he would recommend that all property controlled by Fakhoury, through direct or indirect ownership and control, “would have all City taxes paid and current.”  This, by the way, is a requirement of the Dearborn City Charter.

Abraham says DVP’s proposal includes a three story building with first floor retail, bowling alley and movie theater. We aren’t sure in this economic environment how quickly something like this could materialize but with nothing else on the table, granting a one year extension seems like a smart option now.

Finally, the city also has to consider what not granting the extension means. In 2007, we wrote here about the State of Michigan granting Fakhoury’s DVP a state brownfield tax credit valued at $9.1 million and state and local tax capture worth $46 million. Not granting the extension could mean the loss of millions in tax credits to get such a project off the ground.

The tax credits back then were to support a multi-phased mixed-use development across 12 sites along Michigan Ave. between Howard and Military. According to the state of Michigan, the DVP project “will completely renovate one city block in the city’s downtown and involve the construction of mixed-use retail and housing, including two 10-story mid-rise condos and a tri-level 881-space parking deck. The project is expected to generate $125 million in capital investment and create 350 new jobs. The West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority is assisting the project with $42.5 million in tax capture for public infrastructure activities.”

Councilman Abraham’s column begins below:  

Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham

Dearborn has been seriously affected by the American auto industry collapse, home foreclosures and the terrible recession, which has resulted in us losing 60,000 white collar auto jobs further hurting our business districts, especially downtown west Dearborn. Meanwhile no new developers are approaching us to develop in downtown west Dearborn and projects approved during better times, now require going back to the drawing board. 

One developer is requesting a one-year extension of the preferred developer agreement with the City of Dearborn; that is Hakim Fakhoury’s – Dearborn Village Partners (DVP). The DVP project is proposed on the north side of Michigan Avenue between Military and Howard. DVP is planning a three story building with first floor retail and a bowling alley, a second and third floor movie theater offering food and alcohol, along with other amenities. In cooperation with HFCC and U of M – Dearborn, plans also include 2 – 4 bedroom college dorm housing, which could have a very positive impact.

(more…)

Nearly a year ago, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., announced a plan to reorganize and clean up the city’s troubled Building and Safety Department. On Wednesday, the city announced that a former supervisor and deputy director from Building and Safety were suspended without pay following arraignment on charges of fraudulent property sales.

This brings to four the number of former Building and Safety department employees to face criminal charges, the result of a more than two-year police and FBI investigation of the department initiated by the mayor.

With these latest charges, it appears Dearborn is closing its investigation into the Building and Safety department. In a statement issued Wednesday, Dearborn officials said “no other city employees are expected to face criminal charges stemming from the investigation of the former department.”

Andrew Pizzino and Robert Deberardino, both of Dearborn, are the latest to face criminal charges. Both were arraigned before 19th District Judge Mark Somers. Pizzino is charged with four misdemeanor counts: two counts of fraud and two counts of ethics violations of the City of Dearborn Charter.

The charges, according to Dearborn officials, stem from a Dearborn house Pizzino purchased allegedly under fraudulent circumstances on Beech in 2004 and resold for a profit in 2005; and for a Dearborn house on Chestnut he purchased allegedly under fraudulent circumstances in 2002 and resold for a profit in 2003.

At the time of the transactions, he was a supervisor in the Building and Safety Department. He was reassigned to the Residential Services Department after a restructuring in 2009.

Deberardino was charged with two misdemeanor counts of aiding and abetting Pizzino in the alleged fraudulent property transactions in 2003 and 2005.

Deberardino was the deputy director of the Building and Safety Department at the time of the transactions. He had been reassigned to the Economic and Community Development Department following a restructuring in 2009.

Each misdemeanor fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of $500 and 93 days in jail. Each ethics violations carry a maximum penalty of $500 and 90 days in jail.

The two other Building and Safety Department employees are facing bribery charges. For that earlier story, click HERE

As we have said before, the issues in the Building and Safety Department didn’t happen overnight but the work Mayor O’Reilly is doing to clean it up is a step in the right direction.  Short term, yes, it is another negative story but we need to keep focused on the long-term payback these actions will have on improving our city.

How Good Reviews Can Help Other Nearby Dearborn Businesses 

We’ve written before on these pages about what a gem of a restaurant Michael Chamas has in his Bistro 222 here in Dearborn. With Ciao still not reopened, Mr. Chamas has quietly filled that void offering a great selection of food with a wine list to now match.

We only mention Bistro 222 here again because of a review the restaurant received in the latest issue of the Metro Times. The headline of the story says it all: “A west side winner”.

The restaurant reviewer closes his story about Bistro 222 with this paragraph:

“Dearborn is off the radar for many local gourmands who, when dining in the burbs, tend to concentrate on the culinarily rich and diverse northwest or to some degree in recent years, Grosse Pointe and environs. The stylish Bistro 222 provides a reason, as a Michelin guide might recommend, to make a special journey to Dearborn. It is difficult to find such a satisfying — and affordable — dining experience in our area these days.”

That paragraph got us thinking about how a favorable review about one business can help other businesses in the area, as well. Steven Bernard Jewelers is one such place as he is located in the same building as Bistro 222. New visitors to the restaurant might then poke their head into Bernard’s jewelry store, which is also very stylish and filled with many one-of-a-kind gifts.

But where else could a couple new to Dearborn walk to after eating at Bistro 222? Village Picture Frame and Art Gallery is now just across the street and a good place to shop for something unique. Other businesses in the West Village Commons one might include in their night out: The Well bar, La Cigar and Cold Stone Creamery. Joining these businesses is a new martini bar coming into the location that once housed Caribou Coffee (we will have more about the new owners of the martini bar later).

We’ll be the first to admit there is a lot more that needs to be done in downtown West Dearborn so it isn’t just a one-stop destination. But if restaurants like Bistro 222 can at least put Dearborn on the consideration list of new visitors, it is a building-block step in the right direction.

Dearborn residents looking to find the H1N1 flu vaccine can now receive it for free at the Dearborn Health Department.

Located inside the Henry Ford Centennial Library, the Dearborn Health Department is offering the H1N1 flu vaccine free to any Dearborn resident, without restrictions on age or health requirements, the city of Dearborn announced Friday.

The Health Department, 16301 Michigan Ave., is open on Mondays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Call 943-2090 for more information.

The barrios of Southwest Detroit have been fertile ground for several generations of Latin music acts, some of whom remained on their home territory and others who went on to national and international fame.

In the sizzling conclusion to the Fall 2009 season of Global Thursdays at the Arab American National Museum, an unprecedented gathering of performers from Southwest Detroit – including beloved veterans and fresh faces – will light up the night with a once-in-a-lifetime Southwest Detroit Super Session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 17.

“Though most of us have played with each other separately at one time or another, this is the first time ever we have played as a collective and the first time that musicians from such a wide range of musical styles have collaborated to showcase the diversity found in Latino cultures,” says Ozzie Rivera, who is co-producing the Southwest Detroit Super Session with Ismael Duran.

In addition to Rivera, who currently plays with Orquesta La Inspiracion, the lineup for the December 17 performance includes:

 Benny & Mauro Cruz (La Buena Vida)

Ismael “Bandolero” Duran

Mickey Figueroa (Orquesta La Inspiracion)

Alina Morr (Straight Ahead)

Mel Rosas (Bomba Rica, The Layabouts)

Armando Vega (Tumbao Salsa, Orquesta La Inspiracion, et al)

Javier Barrios (Tumbao Salsa, Orquesta La Inspiracion, et al)

Eduardo Brinquez

Eddie Caraballo (Grupo Salvaje)

Dulce Checkler (Orquesta La Inspiracion)

Chris Kaecher (Orquesta La Inspiracion)

Consuela Lopez (Orquesta La Inspiracion)

Doris Perez

Dennis Schinzel (Fuego)

 Below is quick clip of the group rehearsing for the Dec. 17 event.

 The program will spotlight Latin American and Caribbean music, as well as American music with Latin influences. Audiences can expect to hear songs written by artists from Celia Cruz to Carlos Santana, alongside Chilean folk, salsa, merengue and Latin jazz.

It wouldn’t be a true Latin music experience without dancing. Several Latin dance pros will be on hand to perform flamenco and Afro Cuban styles while encouraging the audience to get out of their seats. Additionally, young dancers and musicians from Detroit-based COMPAS (Center of Music & Performing Arts Southwest) will be featured in a new-talent showcase.

“The Southwest Detroit Super Session also highlights the little-known fact that the Detroit Latino community has been a hotbed of musical creativity and energy for decades,” says Rivera. “Many former Latino Detroiters have gone on to be part of Grammy-winning albums and popular TV shows,” he says.

Among the most accomplished Latin musicians who have come out of Detroit over the years are, according to Rivera:

Luis Resto, keyboards, Academy Award winner, “Lose Yourself” (Eminem’s 8 Mile)

Emilio Castillo, co-founder of the venerable soul outfit Tower of Power

Fito Foster, nationally known salsa band leader and pianist

Nengue Hernandez, percussionist with many top salsa bands

Andres “Dez” Hernandez, percussionist/DJ and son of Nengue Hernandez, a former member of the band Ozomatli

Francisco “Panchito” Lozano, big band leader and trumpet player for several decades

Advance tickets for the Southwest Detroit Super Session at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, are available ONLINE ONLY at www.arabamericanmuseum.org  Tickets are also available at the door. Museum Members pay just $9 while all others pay $10. Call 313.582.2266 for further information.

Global Thursdays – the Arab American National Museum’s multicultural performance series showcasing the finest in world music, performance art and film – is made possible in part by Ford Motor Company, Comerica Bank, MASCO Corporation Foundation, DTE Energy, Arab Detroit and DoubleTree Hotel Detroit/Dearborn.

The Arab American National Museum documents, preserves, celebrates and educates the public on the history, life, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans. It serves as a resource to enhance knowledge and understanding about Arab Americans and their presence in this country. The Arab American National Museum is a project of ACCESS, a Dearborn, Michigan-based nonprofit human services and cultural organization. Learn more at www.arabamericanmuseum.org and www.accesscommunity.org.

The Arab American National Museum is a proud Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Read about the Affiliations program at http://affiliations.si.edu.

The Museum is located at 13624 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI, 48126. Museum hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday; Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Admission is $6 for adults; $3 for students, seniors and children 6-12; ages 5 and under, free. Call 313.582.2266 for further information.

The East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA) is hosting a Holiday Open House from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at its office just across from Dearborn City Hall.

Food and beverages from area restaurants will be served at the EDDDA office, 13750 Michigan Ave., just two blocks west of Schaefer.

For more information, visit www.eastdowntowndearborn.com or call Melissa Kania, acting director for the EDDDA, at 313-943-3141. The event is sponsored by Bamboozles.

Dearborn’s Bikesport has officially closed its doors, forced out by a combination of circumstances including its credit card processing company; the country’s worsening financial crisis and a downtown filled with vacant buildings, according to the company’s website.

“A number of factors converged to make Bikesport, Inc. close,” says Bikesport founder and owner Tom Demerly. “Had all of these factors not happened within the same time period Bikesport, Inc. would have survived. It was the convergence of these factors that ultimately lead to our closure. The primary contributing factor was a “reserve account” established by our credit card processing company during the height of the financial crisis.”

Demerly says on his website that Bikesport’s credit card company said in January that it was establishing a “reserve account” in which they would withhold $60,000.00 of the bike store’s sales as security.

“Bikesport, Inc. did not have any outstanding liabilities to the credit card processor,” Demerly says. “We initially believed we could maintain operations normally but as the economy worsened and other factors emerged we could no longer operate without the $60,000.00 removed from our sales by our credit card processor.”

Tom details more about why he closed his shop at his website. You can click HERE to read what he had to say.

We are sorry to see Tom close his business at 21938 Michigan Ave. — his 14th year in business this year — and wish him the best of luck with his future endeavors.