Country Club house sparks amusement, derision

While having just hit the market two weeks ago, the home has long been well known locally.

Construction began in 2018 and since that time the property has racked up scores of enforcement actions by the city of Birmingham, according to records obtained by Crain’s under the Freedom of Information Act.

e complaints outlined in the documents are numerous. ey include:

 Neighbors complaining about construction workers being at the site during later hours.

 Contractors parking their vehicles in the driveways of neighbors.

 In December 2019, “Construction waste, mostly insulation, was placed in about a dozen black bags at the curb, in the street, in front of the neighbor’s house.”

 Concerns about erosion at the work site that could a ect neighboring property.

In late November, city of Birmingham code o cial Doug Manigold informed Solcz that the building permit for the property had expired April 3 and absent the owner providing “a strict timeline” for work at the site, “the permit will not be extended and the city will start condemnation proceedings.”

In early December in a letter sent to Manigold, Solcz agreed to meet a timeline.

“ is project has been impacted by several extraordinary and unprecedented factors impacting time to completion,” Solcz wrote. “ e global COVID pandemic, followed by signicant raw material and labor shortages, combined with exceptional in ation, all created substantial delays in the timeline.” e letter from Solcz sought a ninemonth permit extension to December of this year, allowing for the home to be completed, “plus any needed inspections, permits and certi cates.” at extension was granted and work on the house and lot remains ongoing. Templeton Building Co., a Birmingham-based general contracting company, is under contract to continue working on the house until a buyer emerges.

Regardless, Broock, the Realtor marketing the property, said in a promotional Instagram video last week that everything is ready to move forward.

“ is home is ready for you to nish,” Broock says in the video. “I have all the blueprints ready to go. What is so special about this house? It sits on the Birmingham Country Club’s golf course with sunset views and golf course views.”

Contact: nmanes@crain.com; (313) 446-1626; @nickrmanes