Paul Denz has a building permit, three new lawsuits, and a plan to fix up a building damaged by a fire — but he said the city refuses to get out of the way.
In three new suits filed in Superior Court, Denz seeks to break free from a $1.85 million lien, which the city slapped on his downtown properties to recoup demolition costs after a historic 2007 fire. Denz opposed the demolition of buildings at 834 – 836 Chapel Streets, which comprise the bulk of the block between Center and Chapel Streets, home to the former Kresge department store. He has been fighting the city in court over who should pay the tab for the tear-down.
The city’s lien stands in the way of his plans to renovate the shell of 91 Church St. (pictured above), Denz said this week. The city demolished the back half of the building after the fire, which started at the Brass Monkey bar on Center Street.
Denz has city approval to renovate 91 Church with street-side retail and four apartments. He hired architects and a contractor to undertake the project, and he’s ready to put $1,250,000 into the building to make the project happen, he said. Click here to take a look at his architectural plans.
“I’m ready to go,” said Denz in a phone interview this week.
He even has two building permits to start work. The first allowed him to spend $40,000 to finish demolishing the back of the building, which the city had half-knocked down. The second would allow him to fix the roof and build the back wall again. But he had to stop the work.
Denz said as long as he’s trapped by the city’s lien, he can’t get a bank loan to finance the project.
The legal battle over who will pay the lien has hit a stalemate, both sides have indicated.
A New Offer
After negotiations stalled, Denz came up with a new plan. He wrangled $1.9 million in insurance proceeds and put the money into escrow, to show the city that the money’s ready if they win the suit. He said he hoped that after that gesture, the city would release him from the lien so he could start work at 91 Church.
The city didn’t accept his offer. It refused to release the lien, Denz said. Mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said the city has no comment at this time.
Denz said the result is a decrepit building in the heart of downtown.
“The neighborhood looks like crap. My building looks terrible,” he said.
People who comment on the Independent “complain about me being a crummy landlord,” he said, but “it’s not me. … They should redirect their wrath to the city.”
Denz is currently using the fire-ravaged area as a surface parking lot. He said the lot will likely remain that way for three to five years, as he waits for the lawsuits to be resolved, and as he monitors the success of the nearby 360 State apartment tower to test the city’s appetite for new downtown apartments.
More Suits
Meanwhile, the city has ramped up its efforts to collect on the lien. On Sept. 1, it filed suit in Superior Court seeking to collect on $1.9 million plus legal fees.
Denz replied with an Oct. 20 suit reiterating his claim that the damage to his buildings was due to the city’s negligence — both in overlooking fire code violations at the Brass Monkey, and in tearing down Denz’s buildings without proving there was “imminent danger.”
On Nov. 17, Denz unleashed another two lawsuits against city-hired contractors Laydon Industries and Abcon Environmental Inc., charging that they improperly inflated the costs of the demolition, and “over-demolished” the buildings.
Mark Sergi, owner of Abcon, flatly denied any improprieties. The whole job was monitored by an independent hygienist firm called Payne Environmental, he said, and everything was done properly.
Laydon officials couldn’t be reached.
Reached Thursday, city building director Andy Rizzo said he welcomes the new development at 91 Church.
“We have no roadblocks up,” Rizzo said. “I’m ready to work with his contractor whenever they’re ready.”
Past stories on the Kresge/Grant fire:
• Head Down To Kresge’s — To Park
• Denz: City Polluted Kresge Site
• City: We Didn’t Start The Fire
• Fire Damage Totals $10M
King Johnny wants this Land for hos friends, Thats why the city stand in the way.