Ex-Greek church on North Main headed to tax foreclosure auction
The property at 414 N. Main as of Monday, May 7.
Melanie Maxwel | AnnArbor.com
Once planned for a $67 milliondowntown condo high-rise and more recently targeted by city officials concerned about blight, the former Greek Church on Ann Arbor's North Main Street now is scheduled to be sold for back taxes.
The property - located at 414 N. Main - underwent tax foreclosure after the owners and lender Huntington Bank failed to pay back taxes by the March 31 deadline, said Washtenaw County Treasurer Catherine McClary.
"(Huntington's) lien is extinguished," McClary said, adding that the bank retained its right to the property in 2011 when it paid the back taxes and avoided the tax foreclosure.
The back taxes owed on the former church and three additional parcels that comprised the land that once was planned for The Gallery, a mixed-use development total about $255,000, McClary said.
That would be the starting bid by the time the county's annual tax foreclosure auction starts on July 17.
However, McClary said, the city of Ann Arbor will have an opportunity to acquire it before it goes to to public auction "if they have a public purpose (for it)," McClary said.
The property had been owned by North Main/Fourth Ventures LLC, which acquired it in 2005 for $2.35 million, according to city records.
The ownership group, led by managing partner Michael Concannon, planned to build The Gallery condo high-rise on the part of the property that fronts North Main. The 11-story high-rise was to have 95 condos, ground-floor retail space, a floor of offices and 213 underground parking spaces. A four-story building with retail and 18 apartments was planed for the portion of the property that extended to North Fourth Avenue.
The adjacent parking lot is leased to McKinley Inc., which has its corporate offices next door.
The tax foreclosure comes two years after Huntington Bank sued for repayment of a $2.275 million loan that was secured by the mortgage on the property. The litigation was filed against North Main/Fourth Ventures LLC; Concannon's business partner, Paul Sieben of Ohio; and 414 N. Main St. LLC, an entity led by Mel VanderBrug of Bloomfield Hills that owns 217 E. Kingsley, part of the Gallery site plans.
In 2010, Concannon said he was still trying to secure financing to build the high-rise - an effort stalled by the economy and its real estate implosion.
“It’s not easy,” he told AnnArbor.com in April 2010. “Every time we think we have one piece put together, then something happens in the economy.”
Then by summer 2011 - as the site plan was extended until 2013 - city planning officials said they were told that the Gallery developers were putting financing together to build apartments.
"(W)e have a commitment for financing for the (p)roject and therefore have decided to apply for the extension ... so we have time to bring the project to market," Concannon wrote to city officials.
In the meantime, the condition of the building deteriorated, prompting city officials to identify it as a demolition priority.
In 2007, Concannon expressed frustration that he couldn't obtain a demo permit. City records indicate one hasn't been issued.
Paula Gardner is news director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her by email or follow her on Twitter.
Comments
Cathy
Thu, May 10, 2012 : 4:02 a.m.
Such a shame. That was a pretty building that added character to Ann Arbor. I fear it will soon be another vacant lot or dead space full of automobiles.
Halter
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:41 p.m.
Sadly, this entire building is in a state of utter decay and really can't be repurposed for anything -- there is water damage throughout, the entire foundation is damaged, and the entire thing needs to be torn down. The question really is NOT what should be done with this building, but what should be BUILT or NOT on this location. Frankly, the parking there is just horrendous, so any large-volume-of-people project isn't going to happen there. One of the reasons the Church itself moved was so that they would have more space and more free parking, having outgrown this small space and fighting with the neighborhood for parking spaces when they did have events. This entire thing is going to be torn down....question then is, what next?....
Stephen
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:49 p.m.
Turn it into a park that has an ice skating rink in the winter. Local business win during the winter time and the farmers market crew wins in the summer time.
captain_k
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:43 p.m.
is anyone still squatting there?
Wolf's Bane
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:13 p.m.
Don't you just love watching "developers" and banks fail and walk away while we get stuck looking at all this blight? As a lifelong Democrat, I also believe it is time to remove the incumbents from city council and start fresh; we need to stop developers and banks from tearing our city asunder! The Greek church would have been a fabulous building to re-purpose, but unfortunately now it is too late because it suffered years of damage (scrappers) and neglect (owners). Shame!
Ann English
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:24 p.m.
Fabulous or not, the original Grace Bible Church building at 100 N. State Street was re-purposed into Hobbs & Black Associates, architects. But little Dexter Village has three re-purposed church buildings I can think of: a Methodist church building became a dentist's office, the original Dexter Gospel Church became a sculptor's studio, and a third church building now houses the Dexter Area Museum.
Craig Lounsbury
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:01 p.m.
"The 11-story high-rise was to have ..." Wasn't the 11 story proposed height an issue that dragged that project in to the black hole of bureaucracy?
Jimmy McNulty
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:50 a.m.
Why would Huntington Bank not pay the taxes on the property to prevent this? What was the outcome of the lawsuit filed by Huntington for repayment of the $2.275 million?
Halter
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:42 p.m.
Because this property is no longer worth anything....better to let it go. It needs to be demolished, it can not be repurposed.
John of Saline
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:13 a.m.
Wasn't the dome once copper-covered? Was it stripped by thieves?
DNB
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 3:07 a.m.
Yes, I believe I read recently that the current owners gave scrappers permission to remove the copper roof, which left it open to the weather.
blahblahblah
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:57 a.m.
"...the city of Ann Arbor will have an opportunity to acquire it..." A 90% discount from the original price may sound tempting, but that does not include the cost of demolition, etc. I hope the city will pass.
SMAIVE
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:22 a.m.
I believe the dome was relocated to the new church on Scio Church Road.
JRW
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:46 a.m.
What's not clear in the article is what happened between 2005 and 2008, before the real estate implosion? They bought the building in 05 and progress toward development should have happened in those 3 years before the housing market collapsed. From 2008 to 2012, we know things have tanked, but maybe these "developers" were in over their heads from the start. The initial project, as described below, seems overly ambitious, and even in the best of times might not have succeeded. A2 can only absorb so many high end condos and apartments. Many high end condos are sitting empty around the city that were built way before the crash. "The ownership group, led by managing partner Michael Concannon, planned to build The Gallery condo high-rise on the part of the property that fronts North Main. The 11-story high-rise was to have 95 condos, ground-floor retail space, a floor of offices and 213 underground parking spaces. A four-story building with retail and 18 apartments was planed for the portion of the property that extended to North Fourth Avenue."
Terrin
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:59 a.m.
The real estate market started to bust in 2005. The Ann Arbor NEws ran an article back then about all the houses on the market not selling.
justcurious
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:38 a.m.
I think the ARK should move in there. Maybe there would be room for other performing uses as well. Just a dumb idea probably.
Dog Guy
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 11:50 p.m.
The Gallery! This is an obvious setting for more public art, which experience teaches us would blend right in without modification of the building. "However, McClary said, the city of Ann Arbor will have an opportunity to acquire it before it goes to to public auction 'if they have a public purpose (for it),' McClary said."