Tecumseh moves closer to selling Hayden-Ford Mill Building

TECUMSEH — Additional steps were taken Wednesday to move toward closing the sale of the Hayden-Ford Mill Building in Tecumseh.

The Tecumseh City Council officially approved the building's sale to HFD LLC, which is owned by two businessmen with experience in redeveloping historic properties with connections to Henry Ford.

The sale price is $100,000, but it will also put the property on the south end of Globe Mill Pond along M-50 back on the tax rolls. HFD is expected to invest more than $1 million in turning the building into a banquet center and restaurant.

The council approved the purchase agreement in December. The agreement gives a timeline with various milestones HFD must meet within the next two years. 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.

To close the sale, city manager Dan Swallow told the council, the title company would want a resolution from the council approving the sale. Wednesday's 7-0 vote accomplished that.

Along with the resolution, the council also approved a lot split for the property, which splits off land to the east of the mill building, and established a commercial rehabilitation district for the property as well as the former Herrick Hospital property.

A commercial rehabilitation district allows the property owners to apply to the State Tax Commission for a property tax abatement for up to 10 years, as determined by the city. If an abatement was approved, the taxable value would be frozen at the amount from the year prior to rehabilitation for the duration of the abatement.

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During the public hearing on establishing the district, Swallow told the council the hospital property was included because it is expected that the property's new owner will be interested in a tax abatement for renovations it is doing. The property was sold last July to a company that plans to turn the facility into a behavioral health solutions center.

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

The council met Wednesday because the city offices were closed Monday and Tuesday for the new year holiday.

— 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 moves closer to selling Hayden-Ford Mill Building