Lt Gov candidate won’t lose blighted apartment building
DETROIT (AP) — The Democratic candidate for Michigan lieutenant governor won’t lose a blighted apartment building in Detroit after convincing a local agency that the property’s exterior has been cleaned up and secured, officials said Tuesday.
Garlin Gilchrist II’s real estate investment has made headlines as he and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer enter the final weeks of their race against Republican nominee Bill Schuette.
The Detroit Land Bank Authority had given Gilchrist a Monday deadline to improve the exterior of the vacant eight-unit building or lose the property. He also scrambled Monday to pay overdue property taxes.
“He’s not living there. How’d you like to be his neighbor?” said Schuette, who made a video at the site.
Gilchrist bought the building for $13,500 in 2016, benefiting from a 50 percent discount because he was a city employee at the time, according to Land Bank.
Gilchrist’s building still has warts, including a crumbling front porch and missing windows. There’s a fence in front to keep people away, and neighbors are upset about the condition.
“Mr. Gilchrist has met the terms of Monday’s deadline by clearing the front yard of debris and securing the building,” Land Bank spokeswoman Alyssa Strickland said Tuesday.
She said Gilchrist must “keep the property maintained and secure,” and that the agency would work with him until the project is complete.
Gilchrist, a rookie in elective politics, hasn’t granted interviews about the controversy, relying instead on statements. In a video posted Monday on Twitter, Gilchrist said he’s committed to the rehab project.
“We’re close to finding financing to be able to bring this project forward,” he said.
He was silent in the front seat of a car Monday, rolling a window down and up while a TV reporter tried to ask questions.
“Obviously, people have bumps, and he’s trying to do his best to get it remedied,” Whitmer said last week.
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