TCH sale to city gets federal judge approval

Federal Bankruptcy Judge Thomas J. Tucker has ruled that The Community House on Bates Street in downtown Birmingham can be sold to the city, rejecting a competing offer from the Julie and Mark Pulte Charitable Foundation.

The judge issued his opinion on Thursday, June 18, after listening to oral arguments on Wednesday, June 17, from two potential buyers, the City of Birmingham and the Julie and Mark Pulte Charitable Foundation

Originally the June 17 hearing had been scheduled to allow the judge to decide whether to approve of the sale to the city for $5.2 million but the Pulte foundation made a competing offer of $5.5 million on May 18.

Legal counsel for the Pulte foundation filed a notice with the court, noting that a motion to approve the sale to the city failed to notify the court of the competing offer. In its filing, foundation legal counsel said: “The Debtor stated in its Sale Motion that the City of Birmingham’s offer was the highest and best offer for the Property. The (Pulte) Foundation’s offer is higher and better.” The foundation filing also noted that it would be able to close on the sale prior to the June 30 deadline when all creditors of The Community House are to be paid off, and listed a number of claims to support its contention that it would be the bet buyer. Among the claims was the statement that the foundation has experience running similar facilities while the city has yet to form a foundation board to run The Community House.

The Community House Association filed a motion with the court asking the judge to strike the filing from the foundation but the judge decided to deny the requested striking and determined to take oral arguments from all parties at the previously scheduled June 17 hearing which lasted about two hours.

In short, the judge ruled on July 18 that the Pulte foundation lacked standing in the case, having been an earlier bidder that offered a lower price than the city. The judge also offered that sale to the city was a good decision on the part of officials at The Community House.

The Community House Association filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in late March after a purchase agreement with the United Jewish Foundation of Detroit and the Jewish Federation of Detroit was terminated due to the fact that the city of Birmingham in 2025 filed suit in Oakland County Circuit Court to halt the announced sale of The Community House and refused to drop the lawsuit. The circuit court case was expected to drag on for many months beyond the proposed February closing date of the sale to the Jewish organization which had offered pay over the $7 million assessed value of the building.

Sale of The Community House was announced in early November of 2025 as officials shared plans to evolve into the Birmingham Area Community Foundation to continue with its work with other nonprofits in the general area. Funding from the sale, according to officials, would be used to clear several million dollars of debt by the end of this June and continue to pay staff, with any excess funds to be used as seed money for the proposed new foundation.

The city’s circuit court lawsuit was filed within weeks of the sale announcement and centered in part on original deed restrictions for the property at 380 Bates Street in the central part of downtown Birmingham. While the city maintained that the sale violated deed restrictions, officials with The Community House maintained that they were following the restrictions. The circuit court case has been stayed once the federal case was filed.

Financial problems were faced by The Community House for years in advance of the Covid pandemic which only increased the challenges.