Milan City Council Considers $50,000 Grant to Explore Future of Vacant Ford Building

As Milan City Council explores what do with a pioneer building near city hall, a local foundation has offered a $50,000 grant with the hope to get the space called the Community House into use.

History

In 1936, Henry Ford purchased the building—used by Milan pioneers in the 1800s as a flour mill—to store soybeans used to make paint for automobiles.  After Ford closed the Milan soybean operation and moved its coil operation to the Ypsilanti plant, the city bought the Ford properties in 1948.

At the May 20th meeting— just as a revised vacant building policy was set to go into effect in June—City Manager Jim Lancaster asked the council whether the property should be used or sold, explaining leaving it vacant would lead to the building falling into a further state of disrepair.

At that meeting, council members expressed concerns with the costs of bringing the building up to code, but wanted to explore options available to obtain money to renovate what they said was an important building. Councilmembers Shannon Wayne, Mary Kerkes and David Snyder agreed to take responsibility to explore grant and funding options.

Mayor Ed Kolar reminded the council that the vacant building policy would apply to that building as well, requiring the city have a plan for the property.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re doing the same things we’re asking residents to do,” Kolar later told The Sun Times News. “There’s such a constraint on money we didn’t want to talk about it, but that [policy] forced us to talk about it. We can’t go after a homeowner or business owner when we don’t have a plan for our own buildings.”

Proposal

Cassie Prior, a member of the Greater Milan Area Community Foundation board, presented the proposal at the Tuesday July 15 city council meeting. Prior is also a trustee on the Milan Area Schools Board of Education.

Prior told the city that the foundation and its partner group, the Community Foundation of Monroe County, would provide $50,000 through public donations and a matching grant to hire a licensed inspector and architect to investigate the building’s potential. They would place the property on the National Register of Historic Places, which would open up grant opportunities, and use any remaining money to prevent additional deterioration, and take steps for stabilization.

“We offer to take these steps because we would like to see the building preserved,” said Prior. “We believe it’s a vital part of our city. It’s here on this main strip. People pass it. We’d love to see it used.”

Prior said if they provide the money, they ask the city do one of the following, based on the findings: 

1. Rehabilitate the building, or 
2. Offer the Greater Milan Area Community Foundation a 99-year lease at no further cost for renovation for nonprofit use. Prior said they would make sure the community had input on how the building was used. They would ask that the lease include the use of adjacent parking and land for events.
3. If the study comes back to show the building is unsalvageable, then the city would dispose of the building.

Prior said while the architect was on site, they could also evaluate the other historic Ford buildings, including city hall, but the city would be responsible for paying for that.

“The whole purpose of us bringing this to you— We think it’s an important building to use and not just sit,” Prior said. “We are low on space here in the city.”

Possible Uses

Mayor Kolar asked Prior if they had any specific uses in mind. Prior said it’s a large building and could be multi-use. Possibilities they’ve heard so far include space for nonprofits, community events, entrepreneurial spaces, a place for vendors to sale items in colder months, and an art center.

“There’s so many different ideas and I’m sure there are more,” Prior said. “It would be a cooperation. This is something we want to do with the community and with the city council.”

Deadline

Prior asked that the council consider the proposal and make a decision within three months.

“Our board really believes in the partnership that comes from the community foundation and the city of Milan,” said Brittany Novak, with the Community Foundation of Monroe County, who was also in attendance.