OAK PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Oak Park City Manager Erik Tungate was excited about plans for the vacant building that WWJ Radio once transmitted from to be redeveloped into a new restaurant by Union Joints, an independent restaurant group.
And Tungate and other city officials knew it was an ambitious project that included preserving the Art Deco style of the building and its history of broadcasting.
"We want the sanctity of the property, the integrity of the building, the history of the building to be protected," Tungate told 7 Action News Tuesday.
But Tungate said the owner of the building recently informed them that they would not be moving forward.
"I was upset," Tungate said. "It's unfortunate but it's not uncommon in the world of economic development, especially given COVID and all the things that we've gone through in the last ten years to see projects that never get off the ground and never happen."
Curt Catallo, co-owner of Union Joints, said he and his team were also excited about their vision for the property, but they can't move forward with the plans they had when they purchased the property in 2016.
So much has changed, Catallo told 7 Action News, referring to soaring costs related to construction, labor, financing, and food.
"Unfortunately, we learned a lot about radio stations, which is that there are contaminants with these transformers and the water table is higher than the basement, and you add that the challenges that our restaurant group faced during COVID, and it's just too much for us to lift," Catallo said.
But in a move that surprised Catallo, Oak Park city officials announced plans to sue him Tuesday over the stalled project.
Tungate said, "If the current owner and developer decide they want to do the project and use some of the grant funds and then sell it later, I think that's something that we could discuss."
Tungate referring to grant money the city helped ATE Mile LLC, a Catallo company, secure for work on the property that has PCP contamination.
In a news release Tuesday, city officials said that ".. a lawsuit is being brought against ATE Mile, LLC by the City of Oak Park because of the poor condition of the structure and the PCP contamination in the basement of the structure."
Tungate told 7 Action News that there is currently no contamination issue affecting nearby businesses or residents.
"As it stands right now, I have no reason or no information or knowledge, and my staff doesn't either, that would suggest anybody in the nearby area should be concerned at this given time," Tungate said.
Catallo said not being able to move forward with the project is not anything he imagined when they purchased it from the transmitter company.
"We still have great visions. It's just we realize that we're not able to execute on those. And when we bought this property from American Tower Corporation, we didn't get a due diligence. They sold it to us as is, but we knew that this was a special piece of property with this special building," Catallo said. "We just want somebody with broader shoulders than us to come through and see it through."
