Lawuit claims under-construction church has not been maintained and presents threat

Calling the site of an incomplete church project a “public nuisance,” the city of Detroit led suit last last month against Pastor Marvin Winans’ Perfecting Church, asking that a judge declare the property abandoned and blighted and require the church to clean it up or deed the property back to the city.

e suit, led in Circuit Court in Wayne County, claims the church has not been maintained and “presents an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the public.” e property, at 19150 Woodward Ave., was deeded to the church from the city for $13,000 in 2005, according to the lawsuit. And after 18 years, Perfecting Church has failed to complete construction.

“ is has been going on for 20 years, literally,” said Conrad Mallett, Detroit’s corporation counsel. “Positive forward progress must be made in the very near term.” e original plans called for a 4,200-seat church, a 35,000-squarefoot administration building and a 1,000-space parking structure, the suit said. But the church has not been completed, the administration building and parking structure have not been started and no building permits have been issued since 2015, the ling said. Mallett said there had been no work done on the property in at least ve years.

In an emailed statement, Winans said he didn’t think the city was acting in good faith by ling the suit.

“Perfecting Church has been in constant discussions with the City of Detroit, and we believed we are upto-date in addressing all matters of concern posed by the city,” Winans said. “We are shocked and extremely disappointed that the city would take this course of action in the dark of the night.” e church’s attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit, he said. e church is on the city’s M100 blight list, a list of properties that the administration is targeting to demolish or rehab in short order. It was one of dozens that were added since the list was rst announced a year ago. Mallett said it represents one of about 150 large properties that need to be brought into compliance.

But Mallet said he’s been clear with Winans about what the city needs, including a one-on-one meeting in December where he previewed a January letter the city would be sending. In the hand-delivered Jan. 6 letter, Mallett said he needed a Building Status Report that included a construction timeline for completing the project, evidence that accessory structures are well-maintained and other assurances by Feb. 13.

On Feb. 13, he said, there was a call from the church’s attorney, but no response to the city’s request.

“We got what we always get, which was pleasant conversation,” Mallett said.

Mallett said he still wants the church to turn in a Building Status Report so the condition of the unfinished project is known. The suit also calls for proof of financing to complete the project by April 6, and an executed contract with an approved licensed architect by the same date.

In addition to asking the church to clean up its property, remove debris and prove its ability to nish the project, the suit asks for a receiver to be appointed if the church cannot abate the nuisances on its own. It also asks that Detroit be a rst priority lienholder in the case that a receiver is appointed.

Mallett said Winans is “a man of great resources and ability” and he is hopeful he will be able to nish the church project. He wants to see progress on some level in the next six months, he said, saying nancing can be assured and letters can be signed.

“We’re going to push and push and push to get that done,” Mallett said. “We’re not going to be satis ed with a court date that’s pushed back to 2024.”

Mallett said the city has been in conversations with the church since 2016. In that time, he said, nothing has changed.

“Bishop Winans is a good and decent human being, but he is in violation of the law and must be held to account,” Mallett said.

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB