- A Wayne County jury ruled that Detroit Thermal has the right to use public easements in Detroit’s Lafayette Park.
- The verdict is a step forward for the utility company’s plan to reconnect a steam heating system for the 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative.
- Residents of the Mies van der Rohe district cooperatives vow to continue defending their property rights and the area’s historic integrity.
- The legal dispute is ongoing, with another court hearing scheduled for later this month.
A Wayne County jury affirmed that a utility company — seeking to build an underground steam project in Lafayette Park — has rights to access public easements within condominium cooperatives in Detroit’s historic Mies van der Rohe district.
The jury’s verdict potentially creates a path for Detroit Thermal to continue work to reconnect a steam heating system in the area. The company and the Mies cooperatives, for nearly a year, have gone back and forth about whether the company can dig into the grounds of their condo complex to connect a heat network for the 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative across the street to the south.
However, court records show the case is not over and another hearing is planned later this month.
The 1300 Lafayette co-op has at least 600 residents. Detroit Thermal’s spokesman Harvey Hollins III said there is no reason the complex cannot be reconnected to the system as soon as possible, adding that the company’s reconnection plan has been “approved by multiple regulators for its premiums on safety and preserving the uniquely beautiful Lafayette Park.”
“The jury found that Detroit Thermal has the right to use dedicated public easements in Lafayette Park like every other public utility does. We need access to those easements to provide clean, safe heat to 600-plus Lafayette Park residents who desperately need it. We hope this brings the dispute between neighbors to an end. But if the small group of residents blocking the project wants to proceed with procedural roadblocks, we look forward to the jury’s verdict being vindicated,” Hollins said.
However, Lafayette Park residents will continue to defend their property rights and “preserve the historic integrity” of the neighborhood, according to a statement from the co-ops. They added that they are not a “small group” and the co-ops consist of 186 households, home to approximately 400 Detroiters.
“Detroit Thermal has been clear about its goal: taking a shortcut through our private property to minimize its costs and maximize its profit. Detroit Thermal has admitted that there are alternative routes for this project — routes that would not require extensive excavation on an historic landscape that its private property owners work tirelessly to preserve. If Detroit Thermal’s priority is getting 1300 Lafayette a new steam connection quickly, it should stop trying to force its way onto private property and should instead use the many steam lines that exist in the neighborhood on public property. The neighborhood has been saying this for nearly a year. It was true then and it’s still true today,” said Natalie Pruett, board member for the Nicolet townhouse co-op, which is part of the Mies district.
As the legal battle ensued, the court issued a temporary restraining order last year against Detroit Thermal, barring it from work. The company sought to lift the order, though a judge extended it shortly after. However, crews were allowed to continue work in the public right-of-way.
A look back
Detroit Thermal in 2024 notified the Mies co-ops’ property manager about looking into whether the steam lines, which were abandoned in the 1980s and have not been used, could be restored to provide steam heat to the 1300 Lafayette building. Several residents from the Mies co-ops began challenging Detroit Thermal and filed a lawsuit against the company in July 2025 to preserve the historic neighborhood from potential environmental impacts.
The lawsuit was filed before a Detroit Historic District Commission meeting, where the city approved a revised project intended to address residents’ concerns over the possibility that it would damage a historic landmark.
Several Mies residents emphasized they were not opposed to utility improvements for their neighbors in the 1300 building, though they were frustrated with the process, claiming Detroit Thermal kept them out of discussions about its plans and the use of their property for infrastructure work beyond what was legally permitted.
Residents from the 1300 Lafayette property argued Detroit Thermal’s proposal was the more affordable path and it would solve the issue of relying on aging boilers, which have failed during winter months, to heat their units.
The commission ultimately approved the project after hours of discussion and providing time for residents to weigh in.
However, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Annette Berry, in February, ruled that the utility company is prevented from reconnecting a steam tunnel underneath the properties. The court order states that any intrusion by company employees on the historic property related to using steam lines to service a building outside of the property “exceeds the scope of the easements and constitutes a trespass.”
Detroit Thermal could appeal, though another hearing is planned for later this month.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.