Fakhoury says ‘will remove all buildings as soon as I can.’

One of three dilapidated buildings in the west Dearborn downtown district has finally come down but the city-imposed deadline to remove the other two buildings by week’s end will not be met.

Back in September, Dearborn City Council passed a resolution that by Dec. 16 (this Friday) the former Giuliano’s restaurant, Brother’s Tuxedo and Bally’s Vic Tanny would all be razed.

The buildings, all located between Mason and Military on Michigan Avenue, needed to be removed as the properties were part of a large-scale redevelopment proposed in 2005 by Dearborn developer Hakim Fakhoury.

As part of the agreement with the city and a way to save demolition costs, the foundations for each of the buildings could remain until the property was ready to be developed. So the Giuliano’s restaurant (only half of the building has been standing for several years now) was removed but the foundation remains.

It isn’t clear what will happen next but Fakhoury’s request to city council for an extension to remove the buildings was denied.

Fakhoury tells Deepsaidwhat that he agreement that was signed only “contemplated” dates in which to remove the buildings.

“No one knows how much work it is to raze these buildings and the effort it entails,” Fakhoury said. “These date are arbitrary dates and should not be used as an excuse to inflict more financial damage to me more than I have already bared. I am moving at my financial pace and will remove all buildings as soon as I can. If the city seeks to use this as a reason to try to destroy me than I would of course I would have to protect myself by filing an action against them. We are living in very tough times and I am like many am only trying to survive them.

“I still feel very strongly that the request by the city to remove the buildings is not going to make downtown west Dearborn more appealing,” Fakhoury continued. “The intent has been to find a J/V partner who would invest in DVP (Dearborn Village Partners) and move the project forward which of course would include in removing the buildings at his expense not mine. I have spent much time and money to secure the tax credit that would be used to redevelop much of west Dearborn. These credits have become extinct and will be very valuable when the economy changes. DVP will have the ability through a financially strong J/V partner to amend the brownfield plan to even incorporate more west Dearborn buildings. I hope the city takes all this into account before they try to destroy me again and DVP.”

The tax credit Fakhoury mentions is on a state brownfield tax credit valued at $9.1 million and state and local tax capture worth $46 million. Regular readers of Deepsaidwhat.com will recall the story we wrote when the state of Michigan in December 2007 made a press announcement about the large-scale development planned in downtown. Here is what the state had to say:

Dearborn Village Partners– A state brownfield tax credit valued at $9.1 million and state and local tax capture worth $46 million will support a multi-phased mixed-use development across 12 sites along Michigan Ave. between Howard and Military streets in Dearborn. The 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.

Clearly, in this economy that development is simply a bridge too far. Dearborn city officials must now decide whether to remove the buildings on the city’s dime and then put a lien on each of the properties for the costs, which would be repaid if and when the property was developed, or let the buildings rot the downtown.

While taking action to remove the buildings would likely be a source of contention among some residents, it would go a long way to improving the look of the downtown. No one can deny that the removal of the Quality Inn at the corner of Michigan and Brady has done wonders to improve the look of that corner. Doing the same along Michigan Avenue to Fakhoury’s two buildings would have the same visual impact.

Having a clean canvas of land can go a long way to helping other potential developers dream about what could be built on each of these parcels of land.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at 5:44 am and is filed under Business, City Hall. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.