The Plight of the Leland Hotel

[Lowell]

Grandiose plan were announced by owner Micheal Higgins in early 2018 for a $125 million top-to-bottom renovation of the building. The project has yet to start.
Instead we get this news from today's Free Press...

The last working elevator in the historic Leland Hotel in downtown Detroit was repaired late Tuesday after being out of service for more than a week.

The eight-day outage forced the remaining 50 residents in the 22-story building to trudge up and down multiple flights of stairs to access their apartments.

It is home to about 50 long-term residents on month-to-month leases who pay about $800 in rent, following a $50 increase several months ago.
https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...beef47_13486e7

Amazing who these owners get away with this. As the article cites those who were interviewed declined to identify themselves for fear of retribution. What a sad story.

"...everybody has been walking up and down these stairs,” she said. “I've seen a guy walking down the stairs the other day, he had a cane, and he was so frustrated, he went and got a room at a hotel just so he didn't have to deal with that [[expletive).”

The woman said she normally brought her bicycle with her on the elevator to her upper-floor apartment for safe storage. After the breakdown, she began lugging the bike up more than a dozen flights of stairs every day. It is hard work, she said, but ensures that the bike isn't stolen.

“My legs and my arms are so sore,” she said. While Higgins announced plans in early 2018 for a $125 million top-to-bottom renovation of the building, the project has yet to start.

[Rocket]

The residents should vote with their feet and move out.

If they stay, they're essentially acknowledging that the current situation is OK based on how much rent they pay.

[Richard]

I would not have been able to climb the stairs 22 stories.

If they spend $125 million itÂ’s not worth it collecting $800 rent per unit.It would be more in the $1800 to $2000 per month,how many current residents would still be there?

Not sure about up there but here same day service in the trades is no longer the norm,I was booked up 90 days out and thatÂ’s for equipment that people needed fix yesterday.

It would probably be at least 2-3 weeks to get an elevator fixed.

[401don]

I would not have been able to climb the stairs 22 stories.

If they spend $125 million itÂ’s not worth it collecting $800 rent per unit.It would be more in the $1800 to $2000 per month,how many current residents would still be there?

Not sure about up there but here same day service in the trades is no longer the norm,I was booked up 90 days out and thatÂ’s for equipment that people needed fix yesterday.

It would probably be at least 2-3 weeks to get an elevator fixed.

Well maybe if they called to get the other elevators fixed when they broke it wouldn't be such an issue to wait two weeks for the last one!

[Richard]

Well maybe if they called to get the other elevators fixed when they broke it wouldn't be such an issue to wait two weeks for the last one!

Do not know the specifics,it was not detailed in the article,if I was to speculate I would say that there was no band aid fix for the other ones and they require a complete replacement.

They are being sued by the design group because they have been unable to secure funding in a timely manner,most likely the banks laughed at the $800 per month rent.

It looks like they are better off emptying the building of residents and mothballing it until they can renovate at market rates,save a lot of headaches,the ones living there at that rate would just have to find another place to move to,my guess is they can’t which is why they are still there,now it looks like they are going to be demanding a market rate rental at a reduced rate.

So they are on month to month lease,less headaches to just clear the building.

Why risk the $1500 per day fine on an elevator that they just fixed and do not know how long it will remain in service and how long it will be out of service should it break tomorrow.

Next the city will force their hand and it will be more feasible to demolish it,the city just had to strong arm and say $1500 per day fine,how much is it going to cost the city taxpayers to provide housing for those residents?

Things happen in old buildings,not that anybody wants them to but one cannot really expect to live in an old building and think it is going to be like a 2022 building.

What does $800 per month get you in Detroit as far as living quarters,where I am at that’s what you will pay to live in a shed in somebody’s back yard or rent a room in a shared house in a not very nice neighborhood.

[401don]

Do not know the specifics,it was not detailed in the article,if I was to speculate I would say that there was no band aid fix for the other ones and they require a complete replacement.

They are being sued by the design group because they have been unable to secure funding in a timely manner,most likely the banks laughed at the $800 per month rent.

It looks like they are better off emptying the building of residents and mothballing it until they can renovate at market rates,save a lot of headaches,the ones living there at that rate would just have to find another place to move to,my guess is they can’t which is why they are still there,now it looks like they are going to be demanding a market rate rental at a reduced rate.

So they are on month to month lease,less headaches to just clear the building.

Why risk the $1500 per day fine on an elevator that they just fixed and do not know how long it will remain in service and how long it will be out of service should it break tomorrow.

Next the city will force their hand and it will be more feasible to demolish it,the city just had to strong arm and say $1500 per day fine,how much is it going to cost the city taxpayers to provide housing for those residents?

Things happen in old buildings,not that anybody wants them to but one cannot really expect to live in an old building and think it is going to be like a 2022 building.

What does $800 per month get you in Detroit as far as living quarters,where I am at that’s what you will pay to live in a shed in somebody’s back yard or rent a room in a shared house in a not very nice neighborhood.

If you know the history of the owner, Higgins, which others on here can detail far better than me, you'd know that he's been a slumlord in Detroit for decades and can certainly keep one elevator running in a building this large if he chooses to do what is morally correct.

[Richard]

With the full understanding that it is not all inclusive but the city has been morally corrupt for a long time,at this point in time singling out individuals because of their actions,which have mimicked the city as a majority is counter productive.

If the city deems a building that is over X amount of stories as uninhabitable if there is no elevator working and subject to a daily fine of $1500 until it is fixed,in a building,as you pointed out had one time up to 6 elevators,the rule needs to be changed to the minimum of 2 functioning elevators,in case of the event one goes down there is a back up?

You cannot change how people acted in the past,you cannot hold grudges,and why retain an animosity towards those who took advantage of a bad situation,but you can change it moving forward so it does not happen again.

It is also not the cities main focus to play police against residents and businesses and immediately using agency’s to slam down on them.

It should be,we got a problem,what can we do to work together in order to benefit the city as a whole.

All of this stuff is the trickle down effect of a past where the citizens just put somebody in charge and then became complacent,the history shows how even those in charge took full advantage of that.

So if one is going to single out individuals as vessels of blame there is a pretty long list that goes from the top to the bottom,they are in-essence rebuilding a city from the bottom up the only way that is going to happen is by remembering what happened and taking to steps to prevent it from happening again.

Do not have a clouded view,the city has an elevator inspection team,they updated the standards in 2019,do not think for one second that the city has not been well aware of the condition of the elevators in the past in all buildings in the city.

So both the owner and the city dropped the ball on this one when it comes to protecting the residents,outside of things break and parts even more so replacement control boards are hard to come by,even more so because of the age of them.

I am not an elevator expert,but I did help in the restoration of a historic hotel and we wanted to retain the original elevators because they were insanely cool looking Art Deco,not only was the cost insane but the current regulations did not allow it so we had to settle for keeping parts and incorporating them into the new elevators in order to make them have a resemblance of.

Detroit has several historical hotels as part of their history still standing, most cities are down to 1 the rest have all been lost to the memories and pictures on some wall of what was.

Yes the building is privately owned,but it still remains an asset to the city and its residents,you can say the owner is an ass let’s go after him,but is that really the best way to go about it ?

[K-slice]

Why do these residents keep living there? They're on month to month leases so nothing is keeping them there. $800/month, paid by 50 people in a giant building like this is barley enough to keep the lights on, let alone preform preventative maintenance.

If things do start getting better and the renovations take place their rent will double, or they'll be served 30 day notices to leave. If things get worse the building will be condemned and they'll get kicked out anyway. May as well head off the inevitable and get out now.

[Richard]

Providing it had a working elevator I kinda think it would be cool to live there.

Metro wise the city had the largest medium rent increase over last year at 32%,I agree whatever is going to happen one way or another,it’s going to happen pretty quick.

All it’s going to take is one resident calling the city in and they can find a reason to have it vacated immediately and shut down.

For the residents it has to be a stressful way to live,not knowing from one day to the next if you are going to receive that notice,Kinda makes the elevator the least of the worries.

[401don]

Why do these residents keep living there? They're on month to month leases so nothing is keeping them there. $800/month, paid by 50 people in a giant building like this is barley enough to keep the lights on, let alone preform preventative maintenance.

If things do start getting better and the renovations take place their rent will double, or they'll be served 30 day notices to leave. If things get worse the building will be condemned and they'll get kicked out anyway. May as well head off the inevitable and get out now.

There's a lot of short-term weekly rentals there as well. Probably even more people paying that way, which is often how these types of places make their money. Turn over your gov't check for rent and meals. As far as moving, it's not that easy for elderly, disabled etc. to move their belongings and find another place at similar rent, often requiring 1st and last month deposit.

[Zacha341]

^ Well stated! If new rent is say 1K and you need first and last months that 3K and the expense of packing and moving truck [another $1500] or so. Not impossible, but difficult. Especially for the poor and aged.

[Burnsie]

For some context-- Michael Higgins has been in the Detroit real estate market since October 1970 when he bought the apartment building at 1135 Chalmers. He bought the Farwell Building in spring 1975, the David Broderick Tower in 1977 and the Leland by 1981. Controversy has swirled around his empire practically from the building. 2/23/83 Free Press article, his management of the Leland was already suspect by then.

[Gistok]

Michael Higgins sold off the beautifup Tiffany lobby chandelier to the Farwell Building for $150K back in his early ownership period.

I believe that in the end he sold off the Farwell Building in Capitol Park to the state in recent years for $3 million... and they of course sold it to someone who had the means to restore it.

[Richard]

For some context-- Michael Higgins has been in the Detroit real estate market since October 1970 when he bought the apartment building at 1135 Chalmers. He bought the Farwell Building in spring 1975, the David Broderick Tower in 1977 and the Leland by 1981. Controversy has swirled around his empire practically from the building. 2/23/83 Free Press article, his management of the Leland was already suspect by then.

That’s the problem,the speculators have had the run of the city unabated for a long time,now it’s the current residents that have to pick up the tab.

[K-slice]

There's a lot of short-term weekly rentals there as well. Probably even more people paying that way, which is often how these types of places make their money. Turn over your gov't check for rent and meals. As far as moving, it's not that easy for elderly, disabled etc. to move their belongings and find another place at similar rent, often requiring 1st and last month deposit.

Not saying it's not difficult, but being proactive here would go a long way. The residents won't be here long one way or the other so leave on your own terms with some dignity rather than making a spectacle in the media about an eviction that you can see coming a mile off.

[Satiricalivory]

This is so infuriating because there is no reason for the Leland to be in this state. The city badly needs hotel rooms and this should be renovated into one of the best hotels in the city. But of course a piece of shit slumlord is holding the building hostage.

[EastsideAl]

Mike Higgins got what he wanted out of the Farwell Building: a bunch of money for basically no investment at all. Of course, that came after he sold off the best pieces from the once-spectacular lobby, as noted above, and left the building open allowing the rest of it to be stripped.

Now I'm sure he is hoping for a similar deal on the Leland, which is a potentially valuable property in today's downtown market. But not so valuable that the long-time slum king is willing to put any money into it, or do anything for the human needs of his tenants. I was once unfortunately a neighbor of this sleazeball and he was every bit as greedy and repulsive as you might guess. I'm appalled that he is still operating by his old slumlord playbook in our otherwise much-improved city, but I guess I shouldn't be. Once a slumlord always a slumlord. In a just society he'd be in prison, instead he's still out there drooling for his next windfall.