It has been a dramatic summer for Lafayette Towers, the two foreclosed towers designed by Mies Van Der Rohe. After the HUD auction was cancelled in July, the city went to work trying to secure a buyer and found three candidates. Today's update is that the City of Detroit still wants to use their first right of refusal to buy it, but that the process of finding a buyer has changed. They intend to sell it to a developer the same day that it is bought.
Before this sale and re-sale can happen, City Council has to sign off. In an email to Curbed Detroit, Karla Henderson of the Mayor's office writes, "We hope to have a vote on September 25th. That being said, we can not guarantee what the outcome of the City Council vote will be." If they do get what they want, the city will pick a developer with assistance from the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. On the day of sale, HUD will sell it to the City and the City will sell it to the developer. Henderson reports that they would put out an RFP to find a buyer because, "there was so much interest in the property that we felt it would be best to open the opportunity up to anyone."
· Lafayette Towers Auction Canceled, City Still Pursuing Buyer [Curbed Detroit]
· (UPDATED) Lafayette Towers Sale Postponed As City Toys With Buying Uses Powers to Stall Sale, Help HUD Find Buyer [Curbed Detroit]