Former tenants of the Leland House began to collect their belongings Tuesday, months after being forced to vacate. The complex owner later filed for bankruptcy.
The City Council signed off on a pair of emergency contracts for a collective $300,000 to briefly restore power and elevator access at Leland House after it was turned off in December.
One of the contracts allows the Detroit Building Authority to coordinate the temporary restoration of the elevator, which is up-and-running, according to Chelsea Neblett, chief of housing and supportive services for Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department.
There will be three slots of four hours each per day to help the tenants collect small personal items. After that, she said, professional packers will return to get the remaining items and transport them either to a storage unit or to the former tenant’s new housing.
Detroit City Council Member Denzel McCampbell said he was glad to see the process moving along and asked Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett on the status of the city’s claims against the property owner in federal bankruptcy court.
Mallett said it’s unclear how much the city will be able to recoup the costs for the power and the elevator service. But the specifics will likely be known soon.
“We believe that this week, the bankruptcy court will approve the sale of Leland House for $3 million,” Mallett told council members. “Some portion of the dollars you approve today, we will get back. I don’t know how much at this point. We will know on Thursday.”
McCampbell also asked Neblett how much the city has spent to-date to assist the tenants. While she couldn’t immediately provide the full amount, Neblett said that the cost of professional packers alone is just under $300,000.
HRD has successfully relocated 19 households and 12 others are still being housed in a hotel. Those residents are working with a case management team on applying for affordable and market-rate housing options.
There are 32 households signed up to retrieve belongings out of the 38 households.
Detroit officials previously noted that a federal judge approved an order on April 3 authorizing the agreed-upon process for the belongings to be removed from the building. The process was to be completed over a 21-day period between May 4 and May 24.
District 5 Council Member Renata Miller said she visited the site Monday night and argued that “the elevator wasn’t working” when she was there. She criticized the lengthy timeline to reunite residents with their belongings and the predicament in general.
“We’ve got to do better. I would not applaud, give a high-five or kudos to a process that’s been going on for decades,” Miller said of the troubling ownership cycle. “It’s a crime, really.”
Mallett reiterated Tuesday for council members that the Leland House was in court with the city for violations before it declared bankruptcy for health and safety compliance violations. He said the law department in 2023 went in “to bring them to task” for not being in compliance with city ordinances.
“The only thing I can say now, with the blight department, we are more vigilant. We are more in front,” he said.
