Phoenix Center Condemnation Suit Dismissed
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 22, 2014)
Those who want to tear down the Phoenix Center hit a wall on Tuesday as Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Michael Warren dismissed the City’s attempts to have the parking structure and amphitheater torn down by condemnation.
Half of the parking deck is in use by employees of the adjacent Ottawa Towers. The remainder of the parking deck is locked up and unused, as is the amphitheater on top. When Pontiac was under the control of an Emergency Financial Manager in 2012, the EMF Lou Schimmel ordered it torn down. However an agreement could not be made with Ottawa Towers, whose owners have a lien and rights to access to the parking deck. So the City sued to have the building condemned.
A report by the Oakland Press states that Warren’s order to dismiss the suit was issued because “The city’s $183,440 offer “omitted any compensation for a lien held by Ottawa Towers in connection with the (parking) deck.”
Mayor Deirdre Waterman told the Oakland Press that “Our attorneys are going to look at that. It’s one maneuver in a chess game, and we’ll have to determine what the long-range implications are for the city… The long-term issue is who will decide and control how this pivotal area in the central city will be developed.”
Schimmel had cited annual losses of $175,000 to maintain the building, and a need for $8.1 million in repairs as the reason to demolish the property. Supporters of the Phoenix Center, including Ottawa Towers and local club owners, say the center is an important asset for the city and could be reopened to cure Downtown Pontiac’s parking shortage and bring entertainment to the city. A recent open house encouraged members of the public to check it out for themselves.
As the debate over the Phoenix Center continues on, the Downtown Business Association is beginning a paid-parking program they hope will keep on-street parking spots available for short-term customers, rather than being monopolized by business owners, employees and residents. For more on the new parking system see http://oaklandcounty115.com/2014/10/21/downtown-pontiac-parking-program-set-to-launch-in-november/.