The owners of the Kales Building in Grand Circus Park have defaulted on their mortgage, but there’s no risk that tenants of the historic structure will be evicted, according to one of the attorneys involved, Louis Aguilar reports in the Detroit News.
Residents were notified last week that they will have to pay their rent to Ferndale-based SSJ Properties, LLC, the first secured lenders of the mortgage.
“There is no danger of anyone having to move or any disruption,” said Bradley Scobel, an attorney with Seyburn Kahn in Southfield, which represents SSJ Properties.
The building — originally built as the headquarters for the S.S. Kresge dime-store chain — is owned by the Kales Building LLC, a partnership of the principals of Mansur Real Estate Services Inc., headed by W. Robert Bates and Tony Ferlito of Ferlito Construction Co. They bought the building for $135,000 early in the last decade. After a $17 million renovation, the building was opened in 2004.
They are working to restructure their debt to regain control of the building, according to a letter given to residents last week.
The Kales, at 76 W. Adams, was of the first major renovations of an historic downtown building into rental apartments. The 142,832-square-foot, 18-story building was designed by Albert Kahn. It has 117 apartments and first-floor commercial space. The building was originally the world headquarters of the S.S. Kresge Co.
