GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A trio of Grand Rapids antique stores will not be forced to leave their building, at least not yet.
On Friday, a judge denied a motion to close the Sligh Furniture Company building, a former factory on Century Avenue that is currently home to Warehouse One Antiques, Century Antiques and Lost and Found Treasures of Old and New.
"This is an untenable situation but you are not being evicted now," Hon. Curt A. Benson said at the close of the hearing in 17th Circuit Court.
"What the future of this building is, who knows?"
Benson then called for a settlement conference where this future, including how the five-story facility will be repaired and what will become of its tenants, could be decided.
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Last month, the court-appointed receiver over the building, John Polderman, filed the motion to close, citing safety concerns and a lack of revenue for maintenance and repairs.
The legal maneuver came months after the building was placed into a receivership — a court-ordered remedy in which a neutral third-party is appointed to manage property during a legal dispute — after its owner failed to pay loans on the property.
"I think he's taking a wait and see approach," Polderman said about Benson's ruling. "If past performance is indicative of future results, it doesn't look promising, but I do think there's an opportunity here, once and for all, for [the owners] to step forward and infuse cash and make repairs."
During the hearing, Polderman said a cracked beam supporting the building's ceiling, "monthly" breaks in its water lines and fire suppression system and a series of code violations issued by the City of Grand Rapids were cause for closure.
"I can't, in good conscience, give tenants an extension on their lease, or tell the city that I'm going to be making all of these repairs when I do not have the funds to do so," said Polderman, claiming he had, over the "past five months or so," managed the building at a loss of $186,000.
An attorney for Red Oak Income Opportunity Fund, the building's lender, said he "fully" supported the receiver's request to close.
"Life safety is more important than business," Brandon Wilson said. "I cannot advocate for anyone to be in this building."
Conversely, D. Scott Brinkmann, an attorney for the building's owners, JV SBAM SB, claimed the building's condition and cash flow could quickly be remedied.
In order to keep the roof from collapse, Brinkmann previewed a $29,000 plan to install 72 columns across all floors of the former factory. He said it could be completed in three weeks or less with construction able to begin as soon as next week.
"We've agreed to pay for this work,"said the attorney, adding a potential increase in rent for tenants of the building and "additional capital contributions" from a limited partner could address concerns over revenue.
Sara Lachman, an attorney representing the three antique stores who successfully filed a motion to intervene in the case last week, continued Brinkmann's argument, claiming the receiver would be in a "worse" financial position if the stores were evicted.
"The repairs will still have to be made," said Lachman, commenting on the potential costs of abatement or demolition. "If you take away the revenue, it's just worse. It's just more expensive."
Lachman also requested that, "at a minimum," the court to give tenants 180 days to leave the building, rather than 30 days, which is the legally required time period.
"We are at the height of retail season, these stores have enviable, long lines, and they have not thousands of items, but hundreds of thousands of items," she said. "There's snow outside, there's ice outside, and there's no reason they should be asked to leave in some sort of race."
At the conclusion of the hearing, Benson said the thought of evicting these oft-visited businesses was "unsentimental" but nonetheless a matter of "equity."
Still, the judge did not believe the building was at "imminent risk of collapse" and, given this, said he wanted to see its owner's plans for repair and improving revenue.
A settlement conference to discuss these matters has since been scheduled for December 18.
"I am interested in knowing what this new proposal is,” Benson said. “Although I am, quite frankly, Mr. Brinkmann, extremely skeptical of what you’re telling me."
"We'll get everyone together, including the tenants, and we'll see what we can work out."
In the interest of full disclosure, Benson also said he bought Christmas presents from the antique stores last year and, when he hunts during opening weekend of deer firearm season in Michigan, the women in his family "never miss" the Deer Hunter's Widow Sale.
Benson's denial, which comes less than two weeks before Christmas, gives the stores hope for the holiday season.
"I believe that it allows us to live for another day, basically," said Mark Miller, owner of Lost and Found Treasures of New and Old.
"[The settlement conference] will allow for some serious conversations that have needed to be had, and hopefully will come with an equitable solution for everybody," he said.
Miller says he feels safe in the building and, in advance of Friday's hearing, has fielded questions from customers about its future.
"People are very supportive," he said. "I think they would be disappointed in seeing us leave."
