BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (WXYZ) — Efforts are underway to save a beloved community center in Birmingham that has served residents for decades with various activities and programs.
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The Community House, which went up for sale last month and announced operations would conclude on June 30, 2026, now faces a legal challenge from the city of Birmingham.
The city filed a lawsuit on Friday, November 25, claiming that the sale of The Community House violates its deed restrictions, which require the building to operate as a community center.
"It was just this hub of activity, and even if you didn't do anything there, it was there," said Mary Ryan Taras, a Birmingham resident.
Taras is a longtime Birmingham resident who has lived in the city for more than 50 years and has fond memories of The Community House.
"It just was a central piece of downtown Birmingham," Taras said.
Next year, The Community House will become the Birmingham Area Community Foundation, focused on grant-making and supporting local nonprofits.
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"Our commitment is to our founding purpose of a nonprofit organization, which is to get back to those in need, and it's not sustainable for us to maintain this building any longer," said Alison Gaudreau, president of The Community House Association. "We've encouraged the city to follow the same process that we've asked of any of the other interested parties to let us know if they're interested in making an offer, with their intended use for the building, would be, and frankly, they responded by filing a lawsuit."
Birmingham Mayor Clinton Baller declined a request for an interview but confirmed the city is seeking "declaratory and injunctive relief" to enforce the property's 1930 deed of trust, along with a 1989 order by Oakland County Probate Court, which requires the property to be held exclusively as a community center.
The city also filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prohibit The Community House from making a sale.
"I think there's some assumptions that have been made about what will happen to the building. I hear people say things like it'll be torn down, and condos will be built, and nothing could be further from the truth," Gaudreau said.
She says their attorneys are looking through the city's complaint.
"We will not sell it to somebody that has that intent, so we are only talking to charitable organizations, nonprofit organizations whose intent is to maintain the building for community use," Gaudreau said.
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