Court has still not ruled on TCH sale request

By David Hohendorf

Birmingham officials at the close of the day on Thursday, December 4, were still awaiting a decision by the Oakland County Circuit Court on a November 25 request by the city for a temporary restraining order on the possible sale of The Community House (TCH) on Bates Street in the downtown area of the city.

The city had filed suit in response to a November 3 announcement by officials for The Community House Association of plans to evolve into the Birmingham Area Community Foundation to carry on the original mission of the community group, and the closure and sale of its building in the city effective July 1 of 2026.

The lawsuit, assigned to Oakland Circuit Court Judge Martha D. Anderson, sought both a temporary restraining order and permanent injunctive relief to prevent the sale of the building and land to new private owners in what the city’s legal filing said was a violation of deed restrictions that required the building to remain a nonprofit center for use by the community.

Birmingham is being represented in the lawsuit by the Varnum law firm which asked the court in an Ex Parte emergency motion for relief without notice to the defendant in the case, essentially allowing the court to immediately decide on the merits of the temporary restraining order request.

As of the close of court business on Thursday, no response had been filed by legal counsel for The Community House Association and no decision had been issued by the court, according to legal filings at the court posted online.

Judge Anderson, on Monday of this week, did transfer the case to the Business Court , a division of the Oakland County Circuit Court where judges Victoria Valentine and Michael Warren hear cases involving disputes between business entities. There has been no public announcement online of the judge who will be assigned the case.

The Birmingham City Commission on Monday, December 1, held another closed door session relative to the TCH sale controversy.

At the close of the executive session, Birmingham Mayor Clinton Baller made a statement assuring that the city remained steadfast in its opposition to the sale of the building and land and noted that the city had filed a Lis Pendens notice that is now attached to county records of the property, outlining that the city claims an interest in the TCH building and land, as outlined in its court filing, a tactic that often slows down sales activity of a property.

Officials from The Community House Association have in recent weeks acknowledged the deed restrictions which they contend only come into play if the association is “dissolved” at any point in time but the association is not being dissolved. Instead, the association is changing its name to the Birmingham Area Community Foundation and will be continuing with the nonprofit mission as designated by the original founders of the group but only from a different location in the city. Longstanding deed restrictions provide that if the association is dissolved, then the building must be donated to some other nonprofit organization or rented to the city at a nominal rate.

The following added statement was issued today from Alison Gaudrea, President of The Community House Association: “We agree with the city that the building should be used for charitable purposes and those are the only conversations we are having with potential buyers. We are only speaking with non-profit organizations who would continue to use this space for charitable purposes and to benefit the community. We communicated that the city was welcome to submit an offer for the building.”   

(This story was updated at 3 p.m. on Friday, December 5, to include the statement from Alison Gaudrea.)