he had thought that it was removed five years before that. At that time, the |
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building was 30% occupied, but now the front part of the building was |
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empty. It had not paid rent in four years. He had to evict people because |
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they were not paying rent. He received a $13,000 gas bill that he was still |
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fighting. It was a financial struggle for them. He noted that his mother |
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passed away last month, but before that, he had hoped to sell the building |
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and buy her a condo in Michigan. Now that she had passed away, he did |
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not know what he would do. He stated that it was getting very frustrating, |
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and it had been frustrating for his father. Mr. Mozer said that he and his |
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wife created Race Rochester, a go-cart track in the building, because that |
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19,000 square feet was sitting empty for five years. He told his father that |
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they had to do something to get revenue from the building. They had run |
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the business for five years without any profit or salaries. It was just to help |
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his parents keep the building going. Now they were fighting the historic |
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district issue, and it was getting tiring. He said that if the Commissioners |
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had a recommendation, he was just asking them to please express it to |
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City Council. He was at the HDSC meeting a week prior, and they wanted |
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to reject the historic designation basically, but they were told that they |
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could only approve or reject the Report and have no opinion. He wished |
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they would have rejected the Report, and said that they did not want the |
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site designated. He asked the Commissioners to please let City Council |
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know how they felt. If someone came in and liked the architecture, that |
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would be fine - they could buy the building. He had a leaky roof and he |
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had to pay for heat in the winter. He would have to store cars there just to |
|
pay for the heat. He related that he worked at Chrysler full time, he had a |
|
go-cart track, and now he would have to start another business just to pay |
|
for the heat in the building. At some times, he felt like walking away. He |
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reiterated that the Commissioners could give their opinions, and state |
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that the site should not be designated as historical. |
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Robert Carson, 4111 Andover, Bloomfield Hills, MI Mr. Carson stated |
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that he represented Corporate Park of Rochester Hills, Inc. It was the |
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northern portion of the site and was 33 acres. He said that most of the 33 |
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acres were vacant, and it was all part of the historic designation. It |
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included the warehouse. The question before the Commissioners was |
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whether the designation affected the Master Plan. He felt that there was |
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no doubt whatsoever that it would negatively affect the Master Plan. It |
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could not allow the development of most of the acreage for the intended |
|
uses, and it would have a detrimental affect, not only on the structures that |
|
existed and the prospects for them, but it would essentially prohibit the |
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development of the property (all 42 acres) as designated in the Master |
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Plan. The circumstance before the Commissioners, the HDSC and then |
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Council, was that this matter had been pending for years, and there had |
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been a request to have it removed from the list. The potential list |
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