The city purchase of The Community House

We may well be in the minority when it comes to the news that the city of Birmingham has decided to ante up $5.2 million to purchase The Community House building on Bates Street in downtown Birmingham. But then again, we know we are not alone in our concerns about this purchase, based on phone calls and conversations we have had with members of the community who recently reached out to us.

On the one hand, we wish we could be celebrating like some of the small but vocal groups who readily jumped on the bandwagon as the city squared off with officials at The Community House Association within weeks after it was announced last year that the iconic building was being placed on the market. We were among the first to suggest behind-the-scenes that the city ask the Oakland County Circuit Court for injunctive relief when the first all-cash offer came in from a potential buyer. We at least thought then that slowing the process just a bit would allow for the city to consider possibly getting involved and at least make sure that deed restrictions on this property were being honored.

We were thrilled when the Jewish Federation of Detroit offered to buy the ‘House’ and at the same time incorporate the deed restrictions into the purchase agreement. That supposed $8 million offer was above the appraised value of the property and it is a well established and respected nonprofit that has the experience to continue managing the ‘House’ and the many activities that had been hosted there. The group’s offer would have wiped out several million dollars in debt and provided seed money to the TCH officials who planned to continue a community foundation that would work with other nonprofits in the area.

But with a February 2026 closing date, the group decided that waiting many months for the court case to unravel did not fit with their plans. We even at one point suggested to city officials that they withdraw the lawsuit but at least some commissioners seemed hell-bent on having the city own the ‘House.’

The Community House Association this spring filed for bankruptcy in an attempt to reorganize as it faced an end of June deadline on its debts.

Here’s our concern about the purchase of The Community House by the city, which has announced that it will be forming a nonprofit foundation, the board of which will be charged with overseeing the ‘House.’ At no point in recent months have we heard any public discussion of just how the city will be attempting to bring back the glory days of the ‘House,’ let alone how much it will cost to operate the building with a proper level of staffing.

We would have felt more comfortable with this purchase by the city if more public discussion had taken place about what the game plan is for the ‘House’ beyond just wishful sentiment about basically bringing back the past, which we are just not sure can happen that easily, if at all. In terms of detailed plans, all we have heard is that the childcare educational component of the ‘House’ will be maintained and that the building will be the center of activities and community groups, many of which have already said they are reluctant to return from where they now meet on a regular basis.

Moving forward, we need a more transparent process when it comes to planning for the future. We understood during negotiations about the purchase that closed door meetings of the city commission made sense. But now, with $5 million of taxpayer funds on the line, we expect public discussion by the city commission and the board that it appoints as they determine how to fix the ailing ‘House.’ The new board for The Community House must be required to have open meetings, available by Zoom, so interested members of the community can follow what is being considered and acted upon. We also expect regular monthly activities updates from the city commission.

If not handled properly, then we see the city coming to the community asking for more taxes down the road because of the failure to properly develop a game plan before purchasing this building.