July 9,
2012
Chelsea
City Council
Meeting
July 10, 2012
Good
evening, Members of the Chelsea City Council. My name is Ellen
Thackery and I am the Southeast Michigan Field Representative for two
nonprofit organizations, the Michigan Historic Preservation Network
and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. I
am here tonight to communicate two points of interest about the
Longworth Complex—a complex both of my
organizations believe is a valuable historic asset to your community
and to our shared heritage. I am directing these comments to you
because you are the elected, legislative body and I know that all
things that affect your city and its residents are relevant here and
because I believe that the Longworth Complex issue has become urgent
and the discussion of this issue should not wait until the next DDA
meeting on July 19.
The
first point of interest that I’d like to convey is a matter of
timing as it pertains to the Longworth Complex.
On June 7, the Chelsea DDA passed a resolution that requested that
the development team chosen to rehabilitate the Longworth Complex
submit an irrevocable bank letter of credit of $1 million along with
their modified proposal by June 21. It’s important for you to know
how difficult or even impossible that request is to fulfill. We speak
from our own current experience. The Michigan Historic Preservation
Network (MHPN) is developing a historic property ourselves in Old
Town Lansing as our offices. The property agreement was finalized in
November 2011, asbestos abatement has occurred, our architectural
designs have been developed, and many other due diligence activities
and engineering and environmental studies have taken place on the
property since November 2011. And we are, just now, in July of 2012,
waiting for the permanent loan commitment from our bank, which will
indeed come. It has taken us about 8 months of environmental
and financial investments before we could obtain that commitment. I
don’t know how it would be possible to obtain that kind of
commitment from a bank within two weeks or even 90 days of a
project’s start.
The
second point of interest that I’d like to convey is to note for you
that the state law that enables DDAs requires that any city-owned
properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places receive
a State Historic Preservation Office review before the city changes
the exterior of the building.
As you know, the National Register is an honorary
designation that affords access to the Federal Rehab Tax Credit
program, and in the vast majority of cases, there is no oversight of
any of these properties listed on the National Register. In this
case, because the Longworth Complex is City-owned and listed on the
National Register, the complex requires a State Historic Preservation
Office review before the City and/or the DDA make final decisions
about the buildings. The DDA is determining now and over the coming
weeks what its intentions for the Longworth Complex are, but if the
intentions could involve demolition or even simply changing the
exterior, I did want to bring that necessary review to your
attention.
In
conclusion, because of both of these points, I am urging you to act
on behalf of the historic buildings in your care and to intercede if
the DDA does decide to do anything than have these buildings
rehabilitated by a seasoned development team committed to their
revitalization. These buildings were purchased by the City and these
buildings are City assets. We urge you to encourage more time for
gathering approvals, due diligence, and securing bank support.
Several
MONTHS
are needed for this project, not just a couple weeks. And please
ensure that the buildings’ State Historic Preservation Office
review occurs in accordance with the state law.
Thank
you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Ellen
Thackery
Michigan
Historic Preservation Network and the National Trust for Historic
Preservation
107
E Grand River Ave.
Lansing,
MI 48906
(517)
371-8080
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