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Michigan Inn

From ArborWiki

Located at 2800 Jackson Road, this collection of decrepit buildings was built in 1968 as a Ramada hotel and restaurant. The 4.5 acre property has been vacant at least since 1991, when current owner Dale Newman purchased it. A deal reported in August 2006 to sell the property to developer Larry Hiss fell through, according to Hiss, because no agreement could be reached on price.

After a July 2007 fire, which caused an estimated $150,000 worth of damage and was ruled arson by investigators, the City asked for a court-appointed receiver to take control of the property and eliminate the dangerous conditions. In September of 2007, Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Melinda Morris appointed Jim Chaconas, a real estate broker with McKinley to assess the condition of the property and report what would be necessary to secure and maintain the property. In early October, Chaconas reported to the Court that he believed the only way to render the site completely safe would be to demolish the buildings entirely; an intermediate step would involve a ten-foot fence and alarm system to secure the property.

In November, Morris ordered that the property be secured and fenced by January 1, 2008, and scheduled a hearing for January 11. She declined to order the building demolished at that time, preferring to wait for a hearing. Meanwhile, the Washtenaw County Treasurer's Office has noted that the property will be foreclosed on in March 2008 for $23,000 in back taxes.

Newman, who contests Chaconas' report as pandering to the City, has had problems at other properties, including utility shutoffs at several rental apartments in late August 2007 for failure to pay bills and illegal meter connections.