City reaches deal with stalled megachurch developer, drops nuisance lawsuit

The city of Detroit and Pastor Marvin Winans have reached a deal to resume construction of the long-delayed mega-church at 7 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue on the north side.

Detroit agreed to drop a lawsuit against Winans and Perfecting Church, at 19150 Woodward Ave., on Friday morning, giving the developer extended deadlines to respond to the requests laid out in a January letter. The developer will need to provide a building status report by June 30, apply and obtain various city approvals by July, submit various relevant documentation and evidence of financing, then begin construction within 30 days of closing on financing, depending on weather conditions.

"The church and its Board of Directors looks forward to working cooperatively with the city to complete this important project," Winans said in a statement.

More: City sues pastor over stalled Detroit megachurch development

Detroit's Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said city officials believe the church and Winans "fully intend and have the capability" to meet the new goal.

"What we’ve done is given them plenty of time to meet the objective. The goal all along has never been, as they allege, to take the building. The goal all along is to prompt forward progress that will result in the building of the church so we can get on with people in the neighborhood to live their life," Mallett said.

The city could file a lawsuit, again, if the developer does not meet the goals agreed upon in the settlement but Mallett said he hopes that is not the case. Both parties previously quarreled on whether the developer responded to concerns laid out by the city. Amid the lawsuit filing, Winans said the church responded to the city's requests, while Mallett said otherwise.

The previous lawsuit alleged that the property, which has been under construction for 18 years, is a public nuisance, and asked that Winans be ordered to correct any violations, some of which included dilapidated fencing, overgrown vegetation and burrows indicating rodents. The property is slated to house the new Perfecting Church, a 4,200-seat church with a 35,000 square-foot administration building and 1,000 square-foot parking structure.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact Dana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on Twitter: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit dismisses lawsuit against Marvin Winans for stalled megachurch