Mold Remediation in Ypsilanti, MI

YPSILANTI TWP., MI — Sheetz, a popular one-stop shop for fuel and food, has final approval to build a new location in Ypsilanti Township.

The 24/7 gas station chain is known for its electric vehicle filling stations and convenience stores. The store at the southeast corner of W. Michigan Avenue and South Hewitt Road will have grocery aisles and made-to-order food options like breakfast, subs, sandwiches, salads, pizza and coffees.

Related: Sheetz is coming to three more locations in Michigan

The township board on Tuesday, April 15, voted unanimously to approve a development agreement with the major mid-Atlantic restaurant and convenience chain.

It’s a roughly $10 million project, according to David Bruckelmeyer, an engineer for Sheetz.

The convenience store will hire 35 full-time employees, he said.

Sheetz proposed a 6,139-square-foot store with eight gas pumps for a total of 16 fueling positions and EV charging stations.

Approval comes following the August opening of its first Michigan location at 33380 Wick Road in Romulus. The company has announced plans to open more than a dozen other stores across the state.

These locations are a part of the company’s larger plan to open 50 to 60 locations in the state over the next decade primarily in the Metro Detroit area, officials previously said.

The company was established in 1952 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and now operates over 750 store locations throughout Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

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YPSILANTI, MI – Oliver Jayce arrived home to his apartment on Wednesday night to a red tag on his door. It read “CONDEMNED. MUST BE VACATED.”

All 18 buildings at Arbor One Apartments were condemned well before April 9, when many of the condemnation tags appeared. The buildings were condemned as of Feb. 7, deemed “unfit for human habitation,” according to a lawsuit filed by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office and the city against the complex.

Read More: Apartments deemed uninhabitable sued by Ypsilanti, county prosecutor

But not every building was red tagged with instructions to vacate. And now, the same notice that surprised 26-year-old Jayce on Wednesday night is on nearly every building.

City officials did not immediately respond to questions sent via email, including when exactly residents are expected to move out.

However, city officials said in a March 24 statement that management has claimed that by filing administrative appeals for six of the buildings, the condemnations have been “stayed” and made “ineffective.” The city disagrees, according to the statement signed by City Manager Andrew Hellenga.

It’s not clear why many buildings were only red-tagged after months of being condemned. The condemnation notices cite mold, unsecured doors, leaking plumbing and missing smoke detectors among other violations.

Stewart Beal, owner of Beal Properties, was hired to take over management of the complex earlier this year. He said in an email that “the legal issues are now far too complex” for him to comment on.

Beal previously owned the property. He bought the complex back in 2018 and sold it in 2020 to its current New Jersey-based owners, VTP River Woods.

“The Beal Team is continuing on our 18-month plan to fix everything, and we are making good progress,” Beal said.

Jayce can’t afford anywhere else, he said, so he’s not looking for a new place. He’s lived at Arbor One since last August with his child and his three cats.

“I’m kind of just sitting here, I guess, hoping for something that’s not going to happen,” Jayce said.

Timothy Hattis, 36, is not waiting. He packed up the last of his belongings on Monday afternoon.

Hattis has lived at Arbor One for three years with his wife and brother-in-law, he said while loading boxes into his car on April 14. They’re moving to another apartment in Ann Arbor, he said.

Hattis’ building was yellow-tagged back in January, indicating the building didn’t have a certificate of compliance required by the city. Hattis said he thought, “it’ll blow over.”

His building was one of the first to get condemned, he said. The city red-tagged his building in February.

Hattis said property management told him they’d help him relocate. Then, weeks went by.

By March 17, Hattis said he received no assistance. His wife and his brother-in-law then began searching for other apartments.

Hattis’ apartment wasn’t in the worst condition compared to other units, he said. There’s been what he deems are minor issues with mold.

Since moving in, the issues increased, he said. There has been plumbing problems and large, growing cracks in the ceiling. After a garbage disposal was replaced, Hattis said the sink flooded and overflowed. After four or five requests to fix it, he said he threatened to put his rent into an escrow account with the city.

It wasn’t until then that management came to fix the issue, Hattis said.

Jayce hasn’t received any communication about the red tag from property management. In the meantime, his biggest worry is coming home to find he’s locked out of his apartment and health issues.

Though Jayce hasn’t seen mold in his apartment, he worries it’s hiding in the walls where he’d never find it. He worries of potential adverse health effects for himself, his son and his cats.

The latest red-tagging comes amid two ongoing lawsuits involving the city and Arbor One Apartments.

Arbor One owners filed a lawsuit in August against Ypsilanti, alleging the city has unfairly targeted the complex and has violated its constitutional rights by forgoing due process and suspending its rental certificates of compliance.

Read More: This Ypsilanti apartment isn’t livable, city says. Now the complex is suing.

Washtenaw County and city leaders allege in a later lawsuit filed in February that the complex is in violation of local and state housing laws and that the owners have maintained a “dangerous public nuisance” that threatens the health and safety of hundreds of residents.

What does this mean for rent?

Properties can’t be rented out without a valid certificate and while they’re condemned. That’s caused uncertainty and confusion around paying rent.

The city advised tenants who have questions about their rights and how they might be affected by the condemnations to contact Legal Services of South Central Michigan or other legal counsel of their choosing. City employees cannot provide legal advice, officials said.

Tenants can withhold rent until landlords resolve problems for which they are legally responsible, Lou Maskill, a supervising attorney at Legal Services of South Central Michigan, previously said.

A 14th District Court judge told tenants in ongoing eviction cases to deposit rent into an escrow account with the court, Maskill said. Escrow accounts are used to show that the tenant was ready, willing, and able to pay the rent—but is withholding the rent until a problem a landlord is legally responsible for is resolved.

Tenants who aren’t in court can also escrow their rent with the city, but risk not getting their money back, Maskill said. Pocketing the money may result in fees or costly litigation. Tenants have to figure out what level of risk they’re comfortable with on a case-by-case basis, Maskill said.

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YPSILANTI, MI – The owners of an Ypsilanti auto shop and gas station are seeking community input on a potential expansion and addition of electric vehicle charging stations.

The owners of Standard Auto Service and BP Gas Station at 1465 Washtenaw Ave. are preparing to ask the city for conditional rezoning of the parcel directly behind the business – meaning development must adhere to conditions set by the city in exchange for rezoning.

The business owners purchased the residential-zoned parcel at 487 Owendale St. in 2004. The lot is vacant besides an old garage situated at the back of the lot.

The business is proposing using the lot to the parking lot and make room for a to-be-determined number of level two EV chargers, said Adham Musa, whose family owns the business.

Without the additional parcel, the site plan the business must follow is impractical and problematic, Musa said. It would disrupt the sidewalk between the residential and commercial portion with a row of trees and includes parking spots that are “impractical” and makes the area less walkable, Musa said.

The city sued the business in 2004 alleging it began using the residential lot for business purposes without seeking zoning approval. The lawsuit specifically notes that business owners removed dense evergreen landscaping that acted as a required buffer between the commercial and residential properties. The garage was being used for storage of vehicles and auto parts, per court records.

The Washtenaw County Trial Court judge ruled in 2006 that the parcel had to remain residential and couldn’t be used for business purposes to adhere to city laws, court records show. It also ordered the business to adhere to the current site plan. But the owners retained the right to seek rezoning as anyone else could under Ypsilanti’s zoning ordinance, according to the order.

No one has approached the business with interest in building on the residential lot, Musa said.

“Really what I’m trying to do is take advantage of this parcel that’s a problem for me, that’s a problem for the community because it’s being wasted,” Musa said. “At the same time, we can offer some EV stations.”

The city has few public EV chargers, Musa said. One Ypsilanti nonprofit has the only two in the city in its parking lot since 2018, according to the organization. The nonprofit, Ypsilanti Performance Space at 218 N. Adams St., received a $539,692 grant last year to install several more.

We plan to install four Beam EV ARC solar-powered charging systems in the City of Ypsilanti to provide more solar-powered EV charging stations for public use. The YPSI, centrally located in the City of Ypsilanti, has one of the largest rooftop solar installations in the city. Since 2018, it has powered the only public EV chargers in the city with two Level-2 chargers. By installing these new charging stations, we can provide eight additional Level-2 charging stations in the parking lot of The YPSI for public use.

Musa added that this is the first time he has personally sought to expand using the residential lot. The land purchase and over 20 year-old lawsuit happened the year he was born, he said.

“We’re not trying to open the history, we’re not trying to go back in time,” Musa said. “What we’re trying to do is start something new.”

Musa also said they haven’t received any outright opposition so far and are “more than happy to incorporate any suggestions” from their neighbors and other residents.

The business is accepting feedback through an online survey before it goes to the planning commission with its proposal.

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PITTSFIELD TWP., MI — A new affordable housing option between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti is available, as people start moving into a completed apartment building.

The first of two apartment buildings at the new Haverhill on Clark apartment community, at the southwest corner of Clark and Golfside roads in Pittsfield Township, is open to renters, Southfield-based Lockwood Companies officials announced.

When both buildings are complete, there will be a total of 295 new apartments. The apartments are restricted to residents with below-average incomes.

The first building, featuring 118 apartment units, has opened. Construction of the rest is expected to be completed this summer. Lockwood Companies is accepting rental applications for both buildings.

The area, one of the most expensive housing markets in the state, saw a decline in affordable living options after several rent-restricted apartment complexes transitioned to market-rate.

RELATED: 295 affordable units will make ‘tremendous dent’ in Ann Arbor-area housing goals, leaders say

“We are very pleased to offer high quality, affordable housing to the region,” Mark Lockwood, the president and CEO of Lockwood Companies, said in a statement.

“Pittsfield Township and the surrounding area are very desirable areas to live, with great shopping and restaurant choices, along with an exceptional school system,” Lockwood said. “Haverhill on Clark will provide a much needed housing option for the area.”

He said demand for affordable housing has been “very high” in the local area and across the country.

Haverhill on Clark features a mix of one- to three-bedroom apartments serving households at or below 40% to 60% Washtenaw County’s area median income. The area median income is about $88,200.

Rents currently range from $794 to $1,242 a month for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit; $949 to $1,487 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit; and $1,091 to $1,712 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.

Developers have a 99-year affordability commitment through their agreement with the township, which is supporting the project through a tax incentive. The township agreement requires 284 units reserved for people making 60% of the area median income —$52,920 for a single person, according to this year’s figures from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, or below. The remaining 11 units are reserved for people making 40% — $35,280 for a single person, or below.

Lockwood invested more than $76 million in the apartments, company officials said.

Complex amenities include a “resort-style” swimming pool, grilling area, and outdoor lounge for residents. It also features community spaces such as a game room and teleconference room, play structures, a fitness center, and dog park and pet washing spa. There are also electric vehicle charging stations and rooftop solar power, among other amenities.

More information about the apartment units and leasing details are available at haverhillonclark.com.

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YPSILANTI, MI — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested one person Thursday outside an Ypsilanti court.

Federal agents with ICE entered the 14A-2 District Court, 415 W. Michigan Ave., in Ypsilanti, between 9 and 9:30 a.m. May 1, confirmed the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office in a statement.

The agents were in the courthouse for roughly five minutes before leaving and waiting outside, police said. They arrested the person approximately one mile away from the court building.

The person, whose age and gender were not immediately available, was scheduled to be in court, confirmed Crystal Campbell, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office was not notified in advance that the agents would be at the court, the office said in a statement. No employees from the sheriff’s office were involved.

Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer said she has “serious concerns” about not being made aware ICE would be at the courthouse.

“It causes fear and undermines public trust,” she told MLive/The Ann Arbor News in a statement. “We will be addressing this with their command, as it is my responsibility as sheriff to ensure safety in all of our courts.”

Immigration enforcement agents were also in Ypsilanti Township and Pittsfield Township around 10:30 a.m., police said. They have since left those areas.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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