Neighbors seem to be in support of the judge’s demand to demolish and refurbish specific buildings in the Gault Village Shopping Center in Ypsilanti near I-94 and Grove Road.
“I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen,” said Kim Burroughs, an Ypsilanti resident who lives near the shopping center. “I can’t wait to see the results.”
Judge Donald Shelton of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court has ordered the abandoned K-Mart to be demolished in March 2012.
The deserted building has been decomposing for years. Throughout which time the roof has collapsed, the outer walls have split and a mass mold infestation was found.
The other functioning stores in the plaza are suffering as well. In March, township building inspectors visited every store in the shopping center several times during rainy weather and found it to be “raining harder inside than outside.”
The Value Foods Store has major leaks where water leaks onto the floor and shelves and into ceiling lights that aren’t in use. The store was ordered to be closed until major repairs are made, which will eliminate the possibility of the ceiling collapsing, food spoilage, electrical fire hazards and other public health issues.
According to officials, the issues have risen because the plaza has been suffering from years of neglect by the owners, who weren’t keeping up with the maintenance work and failed to follow the rules of business ownership.
Shelton has demanded the parties involved reach an agreement for handling the situation or the township might request
the court’s assistance.
The plaza’s owners, Sylvan Lake-based Union Lake Associates have claimed they don’t have the money to meet the standards ordered by Shelton. According to Township Attorney Dennis McLain, Union Lake is earning $50,000 per month from rent from the plaza’s remaining tenants and is certainly capable of addressing the issues.
McLain said if Union Lake fails to follow the orders, the township can demolish the property and place a lien on it. The township can then go to court to seek financial relief from the rent money Union Lakes receives from the remaining tenants.
The people who live in the Gault Village Shopping Center area are being affected by the situation most, as shopping near home is a convenience.
“I work at Kroger on Michigan Avenue but I often found myself shopping at Value Food,” Tameka Gray said. “I wasn’t always particularly happy about the selection of food because most of the items were out-of-date and looked spoiled.”
According to Gray, she only shopped there because she lives in the Gault Village neighborhood, and it was a quick place to go when she needed something right then and there.
“The store was always extremely cold in the winter because of no heat and devastatingly hot in the summer because of
no air conditioning, which meant the food was never stored at the correct temperature,” Gray said.
Diane Corn, a resident of Ypsilanti, said she was happy somebody finally took notice of the things that needed to be addressed at the plaza.
She believes the township wasn’t doing their job or there wouldn’t be so many things wrong with the plaza. She’s just glad the Gault Village Shopping Center will finally be back to normal and functioning at its best.
