Tecumseh City Council approves sale of Hayden-Ford Mill Building

TECUMSEH — Redevelopment of the Hayden-Ford Mill Building in Tecumseh is in the hands of developers with experience in historic preservation.

The sale of the city's former community center on East Chicago Boulevard next to Globe Mill Pond was approved Monday on a 7-0 vote of the Tecumseh City Council. The $100,000 purchase price may be below market value, city manager Dan Swallow said, but HFD LLC, which is owned by Greg Donofrio and Richard Cox, is planning to put at least $1.1 million into preserving the building and developing it into a banquet center and restaurant.

Donofrio and Cox pitched their plan to the council on Nov. 6, describing past work they have done to preserve Henry Ford-related properties in Northville and Plymouth Township. The Northville Valve Plant now houses a mix of tenants, including a fitness center and engineering, technology and architecture firms, and the Phoenix Mill is a banquet hall that draws people from around metro Detroit.

The purchase agreement includes a series of deadlines to ensure the project stays on track to be completed within 24 months, Swallow told the council. For example, within four months HFD must submit a rehabilitation plan and documentation of the balance of the financing to rehabilitate the property. A site plan has to be submitted within six months.

Another aspect of the deal places the property's deed into escrow until HFD obtains a certificate of occupancy or can show that it has invested a minimum of $200,000 into the property.

The project would be completed in two phases. Phase 1, the meeting agenda review form said, includes restarting the building's waterwheel and the creation of a banquet space, restaurant and retail with 2-3 tenants. One of those tenants likely will be the Tecumseh Senior Center. Donofrio told the council in November that the senior center would be welcome to stay, though it may be moved to a different part of the building. He also said they have a banquet tenant lined up, so that part of the plan could be up and running within a year.

Phase 2 would look at rearranging the parking lot to provide green space between the building and Globe Mill Pond to allow outdoor venue options, the agenda review form said. "This will be done thoughtfully to ensure integration to the surrounding pond, trail, and park system."

Improvements to the streetscape and signs along Chicago Boulevard could also be made "to capture the Hayden Ford Mill's unique location as the 'gateway to Tecumseh,'" the agenda review form said.

The purchase agreement also includes a 10-year option to buy the tennis court area as part of Phase 2. That option would only be exercised if the Michigan Department of Natural Resources approved a relocation or mitigation plan regarding the tennis courts.

The property went back on the market in August after another investment group's plans to open a restaurant and banquet center there fell through over environmental remediation issues in the basement. Adhesives used to seal old wood flooring eventually broke down and released gases that were discovered by the previous developer’s environmental consultant.

Donofrio told the council in November that the banquet center part of their plan would be completed within a year even with the environmental remediation.

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Council members were complimentary and appreciative toward Donofrio and Cox in their comments before the vote.

"I'm really excited about this," council member Vicki Riddle said. "I think it's going to be a wonderful asset to the community, and for that building to be restored is wonderful."

"The proposal that they gave us, with the work that they've done in other communities gives me some feelings that they're going to do what they're going to do," council member Ron Wimple said. "As much as I hate selling it for the price that we're selling it for, I think this company will at least try to live up to the purchase agreement."

"It's a pretty aggressive schedule that's in that contract," council member Brian Radant said. "There's not a doubt in my mind that you're going to succeed."

"This holds a special place in my memory," Mayor Jack Baker said. "For you gentlemen to step forward with this type of project is very important to me, its very important to this community."

The Hayden-Ford mill was originally constructed in 1837 by Stillman Blanchard as a flour mill, according to the Tecumseh Area Historical Society. Blanchard went bankrupt in 1858, and sold the mill to William Hayden. The original mill burned in 1898 and was rebuilt. Hayden's heirs eventually sold it to Henry Ford, who reconstructed the building in 1935 to process soybeans. The property was transferred to the city in the 1950s, and it was renamed the Hayden-Ford Mill Building in 2014. It has had various uses since the 1950s, including being the location of the Teen Club, the offices of the Parks and Recreation Department, and having space rented to the Lenawee County Department on Aging, ProMedica, Tecumseh Paddling Co., and J. Trees Cellars wine-tasting room.

Soybeans were used to make paints and plastics, according to The Henry Ford in Dearborn.

In other business

At Monday's meeting, the Tecumseh City Council also:

• Approved the purchase of new, interactive, musical sculptures for the Tecumseh Center for the Arts Music Park with an anonymous donor providing the $12,711.54 for the sculptures.

• Approved paying the members of the new city charter commission $75 each per meeting, which Swallow said is in line with what the members of the city's other commissions are paid. He said they expect there will be about seven meetings as the commission works on updating the city's 70-year-old charter. The total cost is expected to be $5,250.

• Approved consolidating the city into two election precincts from four after the state passed legislation increasing the size of precincts from 2,999 to 4,999. Precinct 1 will be all voters who live east of the centerline of Union Street. Precinct 2 will be all voters who live west of the centerline of Union Street. All in-person voting on election days will take place at the AJ Smith Recreation Center.

• Approved social district licensee permit applications from Tecumseh Tavern and the Tecumseh Club.

— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh City Council approves sale of Hayden-Ford Mill Building