Pontiac Leaders Looking at City-Owned Properties, Costs of Repairs, and Future Needs

(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 6, 2025)

Pontiac, MI – “Deferred maintenance” is a phrase that anyone following Pontiac’s local governance should become familiar with. That’s because many of the city-owned properties and buildings are in states of disrepair after decades of neglect. And now the City Council and Administration is beginning the process of evaluating what investments might be needed in order to have better functioning departments and spaces that better serve the community.

On March 25 City Council President Mike McGuinness hosted a community conversation where he gave a presentation about each of the properties and their needs. He shared that the Administration has been working on a five-year capital improvement plan that will be presented along with the city’s budget, expected to be introduced later this month.

And while the costs may be surprising, and challenging, it’s important to keep in mind the history of disinvestment. “There was so much upheaval during the emergency management era, and so much deferred maintenance,” he said.

To see the full PowerPoint presentation, click here.

CITY HALL

Pontiac City Hall was built in 1953, at a time when the city was thriving thanks to the automotive industry and a growing population. McGuinness called it “very expensive to build,” and “very ornate.”

“A lot of history has happened here behind these doors,” he said. The building is beautiful, but it has challenges in terms of “millions of dollars” in deferred maintenance projects. That leaves the question for the community to examine whether it is best to invest in repairing the historic City Hall, or building something completely new. McGuinness shared that his hope is to keep the historic building and make improvements so it can be functional and last decades into the future.

His hope is that improvements could be made that puts the vast front lawn of City Hall to use as a public gathering space.

PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING

Next door to City Hall is the Public Safety building which houses the Oakland County Sheriff’s substation. This was built in the 1950s as well, and there are signs of the age, including old linoleum tile. The roof was repaired 12 years ago, and the city has already budgeted for repairs to the cooling tower, expected to be done this year.

FIRE STATIONS

Pontiac owns five fire stations. The city currently contacts with Waterford’s Fire Department for fire and ambulance services, and they use some of the buildings.

Pontiac’s Fire Station #2, on South Blvd, is only being used for storage at this time. Council President McGuinness explained that the building is an at grade slab building where the floor is actually sinking due to land being washed away from beneath it over the years. Making the building functional would require a complete rebuild of at least $2.4 million.

Two other fire stations also need roof repairs.

DPW BUILDING

DPW needs are a particular challenge for Pontiac. Currently they are leasing a facility on Joslyn Road just south of McDonald’s. The location is temporary however. “We’re over-staying our welcome,” McGuinness said.

In addition to being temporary, the space is “really cramped, really inadequate for getting services to our residents.” Among the problems is they are unable to keep supplies on hand, such as cold patch for roads or parts needed for repairs. The ability to store salt is also limited. Not being able store necessities means added unnecessary time and expense when projects come up. Not being able to buy in bulk, or having the time to price-shop brings extra cost. There is also no space to do maintenance and repairs on vehicles, meaning that work must be done at a higher cost outside of the department.

There is also a $5,000 plus utility month-to-month lease.

“Administration and council has looked at other scenarios, but we need a DPW facility,” McGuinness said. The cost would be an estimated $30-40 million.

To hold the city over, administration has found a temporary space – a DTE-owned site just outside the city limits on Orchard Lake Road. This space would cost $11,000 per month and also would only be temporary. “They’re going to be tearing down the building in 2-3 years because they need a new building to put their vehicles,” McGuinness said. The temporary location would give the city a place to operate while a new DPW is constructed.

50^TH DISTRICT COURTHOUSE

Pontiac owns the 50^th District Courthouse which was built in the 1970s. HVAC updates were recently completed, but there is still $5 million in deferred maintenance needed.

YOUTH RECREATION CENTERS

During the time when an Emergency Financial Manager took over municipal governance in Pontiac, three recreation centers were sold, leaving a gap in services for the city’s youngest residents. There was a youth recreation millage passed in 2016, and over the years the city partnered with different locations to offer some programming. Most recently, however, Pontiac purchased the old McCarrol school site in 2023 which is being renovated for public usage, including youth programming.

SENIOR CENTERS

Pontiac has two senior centers, both of which are in need of investment. The Ruth Peterson Center on Josyln was originally a UAW Hall that the City acquired n the 1990s. While it is still in use, there are a number of repairs needed, to the tune of $5 million.

Bowens Senior Center on Bagley was originally a funeral home. This property needs $3 million in repairs.

CITY PARKS

Pontiac has 33 city-owned parks, covering 530 acres, not counting the recently announced Murphy Park expansion and a forthcoming downtown park. There are 8 larger community parks, 10 neighborhood parks, 13 mini parks, and 2 linear parks, aka, trails which are the Clinton River Trail and the North Spur Trail near the Amazon facility.

In Oakland Park, the restrooms are not salvageable, necessitating a $1 million investment to replace them.

In Murphy Park the restroom facility can be repaired. The City also recently rebuilt the walking bridge in the park.

CITY CEMETERIES

There are two city-owned cemeteries. Ottawa Park is still active and is managed on behalf of the city by a private company. And Oak Hill Cemetery remains under direct city care. There are mausoleums in the cemetery that are in need of repair. There had been a perpetual care fund for the cemetery, but over $900,000 was removed from that fund by the Emergency Financial Manager and used for other purposes, leaving the city on the hook for repairs, according to McGuinness.

There are over 18,000 plots in Oak Hill Cemetery. The city is responsible for trees and landscaping, as well as replacing markers that are damaged by circumstances such as falling branches and theft. McGuiness said the property has not been maintained for years.

LANDFILL AND LANDFILL STRUCTURES

The City of Pontiac has two landfills that are no longer accepting new waste, but are still under the city’s prevue for care. Both have what McGuiness called “a methane timebomb” under them.

The landfills, Collier and Kennett, are both full and capped and must be monitored for combustible gas. Neither property could be used for any other purpose without significant remediation due to the contamination and the methane gas.

At the Collier landfill there is a building, however the foundation is sinking, and even to be usable for storage would require significant repairs.

The Council President explained that the City used do it’s own garbage collection and storage, but now it is contracted out.

OBSOLETE STRUCTURES AND VACANT PROPERTIES

There are also a number of properties that the City owns but is not utilizing.

Purdue School was opened in the 1920s, and has sat vacant for some time. In 2012 a private developer bought this property but did not use it. That developer also owned Ottawa Towers. Both properties were included in the deal that brought the Phoenix Center back to city ownership.

While nothing is happening at the Purdue School property, the City must still maintain it. If the City were to use it, it would take $20 million in investment.

There is a housing developer that wants to turn in into a 53 unit senior housing project, however they have not yet been able to secure the funding to make that vision a reality.

Another City-owned building that McGuiness says is “the worst blight in the city, and we own it,” is 350 University Drive. This is a small structure where M-59 meets University Drive that often stands out as a canvas for graffiti. He said it was likely acquired through tax foreclosure and it has, at times, been used to store supplies for the nearby cemetery. His hope is that the building can be demolished.

The city also owns over 800 vacant parcels. Those parcels can be sold, and neighbors of those parcels can buy them at a very low cost if they’d like to expand their properties. The city is responsible for keeping the grass cut and the sidewalks cleared on these vacant lots, which is an expense that adds up.

In addition to properties, the City is tasked with maintaining and repairing over 250 miles of roadways under their ownership.

THE PLAN

The City does have the option of selling properties, including the vacant lots. However, McGuiness said, “The land is only as valuable as someone is willing to pay for it.”

He shared that the City has about $60 million in the general fund. They also have a AA bond rating, and he estimates that the City could bond up to $70 million for projects. The Mayor’s office will be presenting the draft budget to City Council later this month, and a five-year capital improvement plan is expected to be included with it.

Residents will be able to review the budget and the plan, and be able to share their feedback at City Council meetings. Keep up to date with meetings and other city-related information at https://www.pontiac.mi.us/

To see the full PowerPoint presentation, click here.

City Owned Structures Presentation 2025