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BIRMINGHAM — The city of Birmingham recently took action to preserve the Community House building, 380 S. Bates St., and its programming with two unanimous votes May 18 and 19.
In March, the Community House Association filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which came after a terminated purchase agreement with the United Jewish Foundation of Detroit. The Community House Association accepted the city’s offer to purchase the property May 17, which is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
On May 18, the Birmingham City Commission approved the formation of the city of Birmingham Community House Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, where the city would be the sole member. Its approval at the meeting was one of the first steps to forming the foundation. The purpose of the foundation is to maintain and improve the Community House.
The Community House has served as a gathering space for all ages since 1923. According to the appraisal of the building, which was included in the May 19 city commission meeting agenda packet, the Community House is 38,995 square feet of gross building area.
In response to a clarifying question from Commissioner Kevin Kozlowski about the ownership of the building during the May 18 meeting, Kathleen Martone, from Varnum LLP, said, “a nonprofit organization owning the building itself is in compliance with those historic deed restrictions. So the city would make a grant to the foundation, and the foundation would be the actual owner on title through the register of deeds.”
The next day, May 19, the commission approved the resolution to authorize the purchase of 380 S. Bates and execute the purchase agreement between the city of Birmingham and Community House for $5.2 million. The resolution is to “direct the City Manager to pursue and implement the necessary steps to keep the Community House operating and staffed during the ownership transition, including but not limited to, ensuring the continued operation of the child care facility in the building.”
“I commend the community who rose up and let us know how important this was,” Temporary Mayor Pro Tem Therese Longe said at the May 19 meeting. “We also feel the same way. We consider this building to be an integral part of our civic campus and the history and the culture of Birmingham and, obviously, vital to its future, and I think that everyone here has made the best negotiation that we could possibly make to ensure the future of this building and its role in our community.”
To view public city documents and watch meetings, visit bhamgov.org.
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