By now, many of us have either read in the Dearborn Press & Guide, Dearborn Times Herald or the Detroit News about the City of Dearborn’s lawsuit against developer Burton-Katzman.

Dearborn filed the suit last Friday in Wayne County against the Bingham Farms, Michigan, company for failing to live up to a contract it signed with the city in 2003 to build a new hotel, complete a 48-unit residential condo project and for failing to inform city officials that the very company the city had a signed contract with for the actual development was being dissolved.

Click below for a copy of the lawsuit:

city-of-dearborn-vs-burton-katzman-development-company-inc

In all, Dearborn city leaders are asking a Wayne County Circuit judge to order developer Burton-Katzman to complete its projects and pay the city some $349,000 in unpaid taxes and water bills, along with penalties, as well as damages of $16.4 million to cover the city’s costs for two parking decks.

“The lawsuit was filed only after more than 18 months of pro-active discussions with Burton-Katzman to find suitable alternatives that were reasonable given the changing economic climate,” said Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. “But it became apparent a lawsuit was our only avenue. That has become even more clear after we discovered that the parties weren’t honest with us.”

The lawsuit really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering how long this project has taken to get to where it is today. As a general rule, cities don’t typically like to be in court, but Dearborn officials really didn’t have any remaining options. The 20-page lawsuit, along with a packet of exhibits, including letters exchanged between the two parties, provides some interesting details.

The actual contract signed between Dearborn and Burton-Katzman clearly states that construction on the property between the two parking decks for the hotel was to occur not later than 60 days after “substantial completion” of the retail components, according to the lawsuit. The grand opening of the West Village Commons retail section occurred in June 2006. So Burton-Katzman, the city states, was in default.

Dearborn also is suing Burton-Katzman for failing to inform city leaders that the company the city had entered into a contract agreement for the development was being dissolved even while it tried to renegotiate elements of the contract with Dearborn.

“This misleading information constitutes silent fraud,” the city of Dearborn states in the lawsuit.

In fact, on March 28, 2008, the same date Burton-Katzman filed papers with the state to dissolve its operations, both Peter Burton, president of Burton-Katzman, and Charles DiMaggio, vice president of project management for Burton-Katzman, attended a breakfast meeting with city officials at the Dearborn Inn and neither mentioned what was going to take place, the suit alleges. In as many as five subsequent meetings between Burton-Katzman officials and city leaders, the “dissolution of Burton-Katzman remained concealed,” the suit states.

Whether any circuit judge will order Burton-Katzman to construct a hotel during these tough economic times or finish building the remaining 12 condo units of a promised 48 condo project is anyone’s guess. However, the contract between the city and Burton-Katzman also states that “economic conditions are not recognized as a “Permitted Delay” or an “Unavoidable Delay” that would allow construction to be postponed.”

A judge might order the developer to reimburse the city for lost taxes on the estimated value of the buildings that were never constructed and maybe even the $16.4 million the city paid to build the two parking decks.

In letters to Dearborn city officials, Burton-Katzman did cite economic conditions as among the reasons it could not live up to its contact obligations. Burton-Katzman even tried to sell the parcel of land “without the city’s consent” for a hotel that “would not have met projections and obligations under the Development Agreement,” the lawsuit states.

In one letter, Charles DiMaggio, senior vice president of project management for Burton-Katzman, blames the city for his company’s failure to finish the project.

“ . . . the West Village Commons project experienced nearly 2 years of delay as the City initially chose to work with another development company,” DiMaggio writes in a letter to City Attorney Debra Walling dated July 31, 2007. “Had the City initially selected Burton-Katzman, the time for construction on Parcel C (the land between the two parking decks) would have occurred two years earlier,  that is March 2004 in lieu of March 2006. Since economic conditions in March 2004 were far superior to those encountered today (July 2007), it is reasonable to anticipate the project may have now been completed.

“Second, it will be recalled Burton-Katzman added second floor office space to the West Village Commons project at the urging of the City. Today (July 2007) not a single square foot (37,000 feet in all) has been leased, and as a result the project’s financial drain on Burton-Katzman can be said to rival that of the parking decks on the City.”

In that same July 31, 2007 letter, DiMaggio lists the work Burton-Katzman was doing to get the vacant land between the parking decks developed, none of which materialized. The list of ideas from Burton-Katzman in the letter include:

• “Numerous meetings and discussions have been held with the Fourmidable Group and Hakim Fakhoury. It was understood from the City the group may have a development proposal it wished to pursue on Parcel C (the land between the two parking decks).  Despite our meetings and discussions no proposal has been made to Burton-Katzman or to our knowledge the City, and it would appear any interest this group may have had, has waned . . .” 
• “Options for senior housing have been and continue to be explored. We have presented the site to Sunrise Development . . . Sunrise has indicated independent senior living would not be considered for this site, but assisted living is possible . . . We have also partnered with a development entity from St. Louis, HPD Cambridge, Inc., the purpose of which is to develop moderate sized, 50-60 unit, urban senior projects (www.urbansenior.com) . . .”
• “A third area of residential exploration may be student housing related to University of Michigan-Dearborn . . .” 
• “The property is being presented to a national hotel chain looking for an opportunity to enter the Dearborn market. . .” 

Dearborn Council President Pro-Tem Nancy Hubbard had this to say about the situation the city is faced with: “I’m surprised that they would show bad faith after the City had tried so hard to be patient and find a solution that was best for everyone.”

The Dearborn Public School district has produced a 15 minute video that provides general information about the district budget and outlines the projected $10.5 million budget deficit for the 2009-10 school year.

The video, featuring Supt. Brian Whiston and Business Services Director Bob Cipriano, can be viewed directly by visiting the district website: www.dearbornschools.org and clicking on the “D-Tube” screen located on the front page. The program will also run on the district’s cable channel on the following dates and times:

Wednesday      January 21                    8:30 am

Thursday          January 22                    1:00 pm

Saturday           January 24                    1:00 pm

Sunday             January 25                    1:00 pm

Throughout the months of January and February Whiston, Cipriano and other district administrators will be visiting with staff members at each school to deliver the budget presentation in person, answer any questions, and listening to cost saving suggestions.

Parent groups or community organizations interested in scheduling a live presentation or wishing to provide input can contact the Superintendent’s Office at 827-3020.

This is the eighth straight year that the district is looking to make budget reductions. District administrators have been discussing a budget plan for the 2009-10 school year since late November and are scheduled to bring a balance budget plan to the Board of Education by the end of February.

The Board will have time to review and discuss the plan before making any final decisions. State law requires the Board of Education to have a balanced budget for the 2009-10 school year in place by June 30, 2009.

A presentation by the Dearborn Police Department will highlight the newly formed Crowley Park Neighborhood Association’s community awareness meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 21.

The meeting takes place at the Dearborn Public Schools Long Elementary School, 3100 Westwood, in the cafeteria.  All are invited to attend.

Following the presentation, residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the neighborhood association and its benefits and receive information about how to volunteer to serve as a block captain, work on the newsletter, organize events and run for positions on the board.

The boundaries of the association are south of Michigan Avenue, north of Dartmouth Street, west of Telegraph Road and east of Gulley Road. 

For more information about Dearborn’s many neighborhood associations, call Dearborn City Hall at 943-2216.

The public is invited to a charity hockey game pitting a team of Dearborn police officers and firefighters against Detroit Red Wings alumni and current Red Wing Chris Chelios.

The game takes place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at the Dearborn Ice Skating Center (DISC), 14900 Ford Road.

Tickets are $10 per person and are available at the door; children ages five and under are free. The event will also feature raffles of sports memorabilia and autograph signings by active and alumni Red Wing players.

All proceeds will benefit the Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive charity organization and the Dearborn Police Charities organization.

So Circuit City, the second largest electronics retailer in the U.S., announced today it will begin liquidating its assets after failing to reach an agreement with its creditors and lenders.

This means Dearborn will be left with another vacant big box store. And given the economy, it will likely be a long while before we see the site at Ford Road and Mercury Drive occupied again. Nationally, the move will put 30,000 people out of work. At one point during its free fall, Circuit City fired thousands of veteran salespeople and replaced them with lower-paid and less-experienced workers, believing that sales wouldn’t suffer as a result. They did big time and the damage to the company’s reputation, let alone its revenue, was never undone.

The upside out of all of this is that perhaps with the demise of Circuit City, people might take some time to drive over and support one of Dearborn’s own, Adray Appliance, 20219 Carlysle. In our book, it remains the best photo and electronics store around. The staff is courteous and knowledgeable and many in the photo and electronics departments have been there for more than 20 years. That to us says a lot. Adray has also given a lot to Dearborn, supporting many of the little league baseball teams I played on when I was a kid, along with many hockey teams.

Trouble is Adray is off the main path and many Dearborn folks either don’t know about them or would rather go to a big box national chain to buy their products, saving maybe a few bucks in the process, if anything at all.

We can all complain about the lack of retail in our city and the lack of quaint shops locally owned but if we residents don’t even support our home grown stores – and there are many beyond Adray we can list here – what do you think the outcome will be here long term?

Middle school students interested in enrolling at the Dearborn Center for Math, Science, & Technology (DCMST) for the fall, 2009 semester can pick up an application packet at any Dearborn Public Schools middle school office but they must do it by Jan. 23. Students planning to become a resident of the district, but do not currently attend a Dearborn Public School, have until March 5, 2009 to apply.

The Dearborn Center for Math, Science, & Technology is a community of learners sharing a high interest and achievement in Math and Science.  To be eligible to enroll in the DCMST program, students must successfully complete Algebra One in 8th grade and attend a Dearborn Public high school. Students must go through a competitive application process based on middle school grades, Math and Science ability, Algebra test scores, and teacher recommendations. 

This challenging four-year program provides an in-depth, project-based, problem-solving approach that integrates technology with Math and Science. Students attend the Center for three class periods each day and complete the remainder of their academic schedule at one of three Dearborn high schools. All students participate in individual research. Upperclassmen, enrolled at DCMST or any of the district high schools, have the opportunity to enroll in advanced placement and college courses. Last year students at the DCMST earned an average of 10 college credits and took AP courses in Calculus BC, Computer Science, and Statistics.

 The average grade point average for DCMST students in 2007 was 3.83 and the current senior class has an average ACT score of 27. Four Valedictorians and 8 Salutatorians have graduated from the program. The DCMST Class of 2007 received over $1.75 million in Scholarship offers and that number grew to $2.6 million for the class of 2008.

 For further information about the Dearborn Center for Math, Science, & Technology, please visit their web site at http://dcmst.dearbornschools.org or call (313) 827-2720.

Well, we have finally switched to a new platform and a new server. It took a bit longer than we would have liked to move and we still are in the process of carrying over three years of stories, along with photos and video.

We made a host of improvements, the majority on making the site operate more reliably and viewable from multiple types of Internet browsers.

You’ll also notice on the right rail of the page that we have added a community calendar that we have simply titled “Upcoming Events”. Simply click on the event and the pertinent information will appear. So if you have an upcoming event we’ll post it here free of charge for you. Please send along the information to our email address at the top right of the page and we will be happy to add it to the Upcoming Events section.

More visible improvements to the site will be forthcoming. As always, DeepSaidWhat.com welcomes your views and encourages lively – but civil – discussions about Dearborn. Comments are unedited, but submissions reported as abusive or unrelated to a posted story may be removed.

Thanks for reading.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is on a fast path to permanently remove the traffic signal at Fordson and Telegraph, a move that likely will encourage motorists traveling north on Telegraph between Oxford and Cherry Hill to drive even faster.

According to residents who live near the intersection, MDOT officials have already switched the signal to a flashing amber and the plan is to keep it that way for the next 90 days. After that, the traffic signal is set to be removed altogether.

It isn’t entirely clear why officials at MDOT want to remove this particular signal but for those who have tried to turn from southbound Telegraph to head north on to Telegraph, it has become increasingly difficult at peak travel times because traffic no longer stops at the light resulting in fewer gaps in the flow of vehicles. It also has become more dangerous for students walking home from Dearborn High School who have used that signal as a way to cross Telegraph.

A resident on Newton Street alerted us here at DeepSaidWhat about the pending change, explaining that the flashing amber will stay for 90 days, unless residents contact MDOT to complain. If enough residents call, MDOT may reassess their plans and perhaps return the traffic signal to the formal full operation.

Residents can contact Mike Budai at MDOT at 313-375-2400 to make clear why the traffic signal should remain. Callers should be prepared to explain why the signal should remain in operation.

Macy’s is closing 11 stores, but Dearborn’s Fairlane location will remain, a good thing for the mall as it is one of the key anchors at the Fairlane Town Center.

Macy’s cancelled out its 10 new store openings in 2007 with this announcement that it is closing 11 stores that have been experiencing declining sales with little hope for future growth.

The 11 stores being closed will leave big holes in several malls where Macy’s has been a tenant for more than 20 years.

In a company statement, Macy’s said in 2009 it had modest store opening plans for six to eight stores. The company currently operates about 850 stores under the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s brands.

Stores to shut are in Los Angeles; Colorado Springs and Westminster, Colo.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Hawaii; Indianapolis; Brooklyn Center, Minn.; St. Louis; Natrona Heights and West Mifflin, Pa.; and Nashville, Tenn.