The owner of the former "CARE" building in downtown Detroit — a five-story structure that was featured in a Kid Rock video and
later demolished upon a court order — has filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation [[DEGC), claiming the agency extorted him into selling the property at an unacceptable price.
In a one-count complaint filed in Wayne County Circuit Court on Monday, developer Anthony Pieroni alleges the DEGC and its
outgoing executive vice president, Brian Holdwick, made a threat last year to withhold any tax credit or subsidy to prospective buyers of the Michigan Building — which was also owned by the 76-year-old developer. The purpose of the threat, the complaint alleges, was to compel Pieroni to sell the CARE building at 139 Bagley to a company with plans for the former Statler Hotel site at a price far-less than what he considered fair.
After learning about the $40 million Village Green project in March, Pieroni arranged a meeting with Village Green's chief, Jonathan Holtzman, and said he'd sell 139 Bagley for $4 million, court records show. It was a standard price for real estate, Pieroni argued, at 10 percent of the total project cost. But discussions quickly broke down. The complaint alleges Holtzman then said he would get the city to tear down the CARE building at Pieroni's expense.
In late April, Pieroni arranged a meeting with Holdwick to discuss potential development of the site. The pair talked about Village Green's project, and Pieroni said he'd cooperate on a sale price if the compensation was "satisfactory," the complaint says. Holdwick didn't budge. According to the complaint, Holdwick allegedly said Pieroni should accept Holtzman's offer, and if he didn't, "the DEGC would not extend ordinary benefits, credits, approvals, and licenses to the purchaser of the Michigan Building." A DEGC spokesperson declined comment.