It's funny they keep calling it 16 stories. It's really only 15, but they don't count the 13th floor as such. Anyway, after reading a few other articles on the deal, it kind of sounds like the Crim couldn't find the money to put up up front to buy the thing. But, it also sounds like the Mott Foundation is simply going to purchase it and let the Crim work out any redevelopment plans.
By-the-way, I was surprised this didn't get posted. It seems that the current owners are trying to hold up the sell of the Genesee Towers to the City of Flint:
Quote:
Flint's attempt to take over crumbling Genesee Towers put on hold
by Joe Lawlor | The Flint Journal
Monday December 08, 2008, 8:23 PM
This story has been updated.
Steve Jessmore | Flint Journal filesGenesee Towers (right) stands next to the Mott Foundation Building in downtown Flint.
FLINT, Michigan -- Just when it seemed like the city would become the owners of downtown eyesore Genesee Towers, the building has become mired in more court action.
If and when the city does take possession of the 1960s-era building, city leaders say they will demolish it.
The latest delay? The Michigan Appeals Court agreed to hear the appeal by Genesee Towers owners Sasikala and Kumar Vemulapalli. The appeals court issued a stay order on Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut's September decision to grant possession to the city.
"Everything Judge Neithercut decided has been put on hold. The frustrating thing is that the building sits in limbo," said City Attorney Trachelle Young.
Flint Journal extras
Young said the city hadn't yet started paperwork to transfer the title from Vemulapalli to the city when the court issued a stay on Oct. 10.
There's been a flurry of court motions and time extensions since then and there's no indication when the appeals court would hear the case.
Ed Draugelis, Vemulapalli's attorney, couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.
Julie Prince, co-owner of the Brown Sugar Cafe in downtown Flint, said she was hoping it wouldn't take long to demolish the building.
"Wonderful," Prince said sarcastically when hearing the news. "It seems like it's been forever since it's been vacant (2002). We need to make downtown look really good, and that eyesore sticks right out."
Larry Ford, the city's Downtown Development Authority director, said he wasn't surprised that the city didn't immediately become the owner.
"It's too bad, because the judge's decision was just what we needed for downtown," Ford said.
The 19-story building is Flint's tallest, and at one time housed banks and a restaurant.
Vemulapalli and the city have been fighting in court over it since 2001. The vacant building has been cited for numerous code violations, and there are barricades around it to protect pedestrians from falling debris.
In a sign that Genesee Towers could be there for a while, the City Council on Monday canceled the rental contract for the barricades and agreed to spend $30,000 to purchase barricades.
Neithercut had ordered in September that the city should immediately pay Vemulapalli $1.5 million and take possession of the building. Any additional money paid to Vemulapalli would be worked out in mediation or the courts, Neithercut ruled.
The city had appealed to Neithercut an earlier ruling by an arbitrator granting Vemulapalli $6 million for the building.
Young said she's optimistic the appeals court will eventually side with Neithercut, but Councilman Scott Kincaid said he believes the city will be on the hook for $6 million because judges are reluctant to overturn the work of an arbitrator.
"I think the whole case was mishandled from the very beginning," Kincaid said.
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I must say, I've lost total patience with the current owner, and have absolutely no sympathy for them. I'm tired of Michigan's squatting speculators. It's about time someone took them on.