Layfayette Towers in foreclosure

**noenaim** · March-01-12, 09:24 PM

The residents of Layfayette Towers have been sent letters form HUD [[U.S. department of housing and urban development) saying that the building will be going into foreclosure. The landmark buildings has gone though problems since it was sold by the Habitat company a few years ago. Things seemed to have gotten better lately, but we had no idea the building was owned by HUD.

**WaCoTS** · March-02-12, 05:42 PM

<--just applied for a maintenance job there a week or two ago lol

**Detroitej72** · March-02-12, 10:57 PM

Let's not jump to conclusions just yet....

Layfayette Towers is an institution in Detroit, let's wait until we judge this one.

**stasu1213** · March-03-12, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

<--just applied for a maintenance job there a week or two ago lol

They need more maintenance people on staff. Maybe the new owners will do a better job in taking care of the buildings than Northern Group has done. My friend, who is a resident, had informed me that HUD will notify the city of HUD's decision to foreclose.. Hud may consider a non-competitive sale to the City if the City show an interest in purchasing Lafayette Towers. My friend had said that there were improvements made to the Towers but work still has to be done.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · March-03-12, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

They need more maintenance people on staff. Maybe the new owners will do a better job in taking care of the buildings than Northern Group has done. My friend, who is a resident, had informed me that HUD will notify the city of HUD's decision to foreclose.. Hud may consider a non-competitive sale to the City if the City show an interest in purchasing Lafayette Towers. My friend had said that there were improvements made to the Towers but work still has to be done.

Where is the city going to get the money to buy it? They're almost broke.

**Jason** · March-03-12, 02:07 PM

I don't think that means that the city wants to buy it, I think that means part of the process is allowing the city the option of buying it.

The Northern Group ran the building into the ground. The worst thing I can imagine happening to the building is it gets bought by someone else who would also mismanage it. The best thing [[and I think this is more likely) is that someone buys it, renovates it, and manages it well.

Two Mies towers, in a stable neighborhood, right outside downtown, with a history of low vacancy. To me it seems like both a bargain and a safe investment.

**HazenPingree** · March-03-12, 04:16 PM

I'm not sure what the loan structure was for Lafayette Towers, but HUD loans are often guaranteed by the city. In the case of HUD 108 Loans, for example, the city is actually the entity responsible for the repayment of the loan. Developers pay back the city who in turn pays back HUD. If developers can't pay, then the city is responsible for the funds.

Until recently, the city used unspent block grant monies [[which would otherwise be returned to the fed) to pay back 108 loans in Detroit, but the new planning director has cracked down on this practice and I think that HUD has started to call loans for non-payment.

**stasu1213** · March-03-12, 04:27 PM

Maybe Dan Gilber, Karmanos, or Karmanos may know someone who wiould buy the building and encourage their some of their employees to move in just to be close to their jobs

**BVos** · March-06-12, 09:37 PM

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Habitat Co. buy it back. They were the original developers of the building and managed it up until a few years ago when they were shocked when the Northern Group chose not to renew the management agreement, breaking some 50 years of constant involvement with the buildings. Habitat is on a buying spree [[they picked up several large apartment complexes in the Ann Arbor area for a record price a few months ago) and they continue to manage the Pavilion as well as have other real estate consultant work in Detroit. Daniel Levin [[Carl & Sander's cousin), who founded Habitat and did Lafayette Towers as the company's first deal has a lot of sentimental attachment to that development.

**Jason** · March-07-12, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by BVos

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Habitat Co. buy it back. They were the original developers of the building and managed it up until a few years ago when they were shocked when the Northern Group chose not to renew the management agreement, breaking some 50 years of constant involvement with the buildings. Habitat is on a buying spree [[they picked up several large apartment complexes in the Ann Arbor area for a record price a few months ago) and they continue to manage the Pavilion as well as have other real estate consultant work in Detroit. Daniel Levin [[Carl & Sander's cousin), who founded Habitat and did Lafayette Towers as the company's first deal has a lot of sentimental attachment to that development.

Thanks for sharing that, I didn't realize they had so much history.

Can you say more about the history of the development? Was Habitat the original management company or were they involved with the development too? As far as I had known it was a HUD project known as the Gratiot Redevelopment Project, it sat empty for a while, and then Herb Greenwald got involved and actually developed the site. Was Habitat the original management company or were they also involved in the development itself?