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A collapsed bridge isn't the only thing standing between a developer and his ambitious vision to renovate the Packard Plant: There's a hefty tax bill that must be paid by Spring if he wants to hold on to the property.
Daily Detroit reported last week that Arte Express, the company that owns the Packard, owed more than $300,000 in property taxes as of August 2018. The Wayne County Treasurer's Office later told the Free Press that the 2016 bill that could send the property into foreclosure is $185,000.
A spokesman for Arte Express tells Daily Detroit the bill will be paid:
When reached for comment, Arte Express spokesman and Clark Hill real estate lawyer Joe Kopietz said that the outstanding debt is from water issues and there is no danger of the buildings being foreclosed on.
“We intend to take care of those” outstanding debts,” Kopietz said, adding that “in regards the taxes, the taxes were fully paid. However, this relates to certain additional stormwater drainage charges that we’re looking to fund and get discharged. No worry about it going into the foreclosure process.”
International developer Fernando Palazuelo and his Arte Express have said they plan to turn the old auto complex into a mixed-use development of offices, an art gallery, hotel and more. A ground-breaking on the first phase of the project was held in 2017, but little progress has been made since. Last week, the bridge connecting two parts of the abandoned factory collapsed.
Arte Express bought the complex in the Wayne County Tax Foreclosure Auction for $405,000 in 2013. It has until the end of March to pay the back taxes or get on a payment plan.
If it doesn't, the Freep reports some public money could be squandered:
Financing for the first phase involved a mix of private equity funding from Palazuelo's companies, tax credits, a $300,000 Wayne County loan, an $80,000 county grant and a $5.2-million brownfield environmental cleanup that would reimburse that amount to Arte Express over a period of years.
