This commentary by the owner of Mudgie’s Deli & Wine Shop in Corktown is adapted with permission from a Facebook post, which the author updates at the end.
By Greg Mudge
A friend who has lived in Detroit for 16 years has to move from the property where she lives, works and employs other people. The building was sold to an investment company based elsewhere that will redevelop it.
These stories are being told more often. People who’ve been here and made this city what it is are slowly being pushed out by investors with deep-cash pockets -- people who years ago had zero interest in Detroit.
Greg Mudge: "It’s not fair to the people who stood by the city all along." (Facebook photo)
I'm not saying what's happening in the city is bad, just that the city should find a better way to take care of those who were here and loyal to Detroit when no one else seemed to care.
Small business owners and young adults didn't have buying power when property values were lower, and now don't have a chance to become owners as prices soar. Properties are selling for three to five times appraisal values. Unless you have heavy cash, you're left out.
Many landlords did nothing to maintain or upgrade properties. I put up with this type of neglect for 10 years. My landlords never did anything unless I lawyered up and put rent in escrow.
‘Landlords taking advantage’
I happened to work in the building at Porter and Brooklyn streets before opening Mudgie's there. There was never any maintenance then either. This was my first business so I thought it was the norm. Maybe it was and still is.
Landlords taking advantage of folks act as though they do tenants a favor by letting them do business. I essentially ended up maintaining someone else's property. If a repair cost less than the hassle and expense of retaining a lawyer and putting rent in an escrow account, I ate it.
Most of the time I couldn’t wait and was forced to make repairs myself -- and I'm not talking small things. I had to put rent into escrow once because the landlords thought it was OK and normal that four inches of water would be in the basement whenever it rained. They said: "It's Corktown, everyone's basement floods."
After dealing with this for 10 years, the landlord passed away. I knew the building would go on the market, and it was always a hope to purchase it. I had the right of first refusal in my lease. I immediately had an appraisal done by someone highly recommended who has a ton of experience in the area.
‘No clue what will happen’
When the building went on the market for nearly five times as much as it appraised, I was shocked. I was also out. There was no way I could come up with that, nor would I.
I have 4.5 years on my lease. I have no clue what will happen by then. I am still getting to know my new landlords. This post is in no way about them. I am only using my situation as an example. This is not about me.
Mudgie's Deli & Wine Shop in Corktown.
This post is also not about hating on investors. We need them.
But this situation is happening all over the country. There has to be a better way. It’s not fair to the people who stood by the city all along to have their life's work ripped out from under them.
People often say the city is making a comeback. For many it never went anywhere. Yes, there was more blight and city services were much worse, but there have always been people here supporting, living, promoting and being proud of this place:
- People who transformed vacant lots into art or gardens.
- People who took/take care of abandoned properties in their neighborhoods, boarded up vacant homes, adopted parks.
- People who stood in the rain and cleared sewers drains with rakes during the flood.
- People who walked around and supported downtown and loved it even though all the empty buildings made the air reek of mold and mildew.
- People who opened businesses where and when no one else would.
- People who stuck by the city when others thought it went somewhere.
Those are the people who make/made this city what it is. They are the soul of this city. What is a body without a soul?
Update: 'Does it have to be' the way things are?
Since the time that I wrote this [July 10], many buildings in Eastern Market were purchased. The new landlords have made a public statement about how they intend to keep their tenants. They say they want to keep the integrity and culture of the market and enhance it for the better.
I made that post simply to ask the question: Is there a better way? I say it's not fair.
Well, we all know sometimes life is not not fair. In replies to the post, many say: "That's just how it is" My reply is: "Does it have to be?"
