The fight over the future of the historic Leland House intensified Tuesday after some Detroit City Council members openly questioned whether the city should take control of the long-troubled building and convert it into public housing.
More than a dozen displaced tenants and housing advocates urged the council to intervene and demanded that Mayor Mary Sheffield’s administration do more than oversee the building’s evacuation and bankruptcy proceedings. They urged the city to either acquire the property through eminent domain or pursue nuisance abatement proceedings, arguing that Detroit must act boldly and progressively to address the worsening affordable housing crisis.
The 22-story apartment building at 400 Bagley St. has been vacant since December, when the Detroit fire marshal ordered an emergency evacuation after power failed. Tenants have been barred from returning to retrieve their belongings, which includes prescription drugs, IDs, family heirlooms, clothes, medical equipment, and irreplaceable mementos.
Now, the debate has shifted from emergency response to long-term control.
Steven Rimmer, lead organizer for the Detroit Tenants Union, told council members the city should acquire the building and “convert it into city-controlled housing.” He noted the city is already spending money to temporarily house displaced residents but doesn’t have a “permanent resolution or anything to address the root problem.”
“We cannot allow another cycle of speculation or displacement,” Rimmer said.
Donovan McCarty, director of the Housing Justice Clinic at Michigan State University’s College of Law, said cities elsewhere have taken similar steps. He pointed to California’s Homekey program, which has used state funds to acquire hotels and motels and convert them into permanent affordable housing for unhoused residents.
“It’s not unprecedented. It’s something that can be done, and it should be done,” McCarty said. “But the city is refusing and instead they’re obstructing. They’re challenging everything we do.”
Under Michigan law, the city could pursue eminent domain, a court process that allows a government to take blighted property for public use while paying fair market value. Alternatively, officials could attempt nuisance abatement, arguing the property constitutes a public hazard. That route can lead to liens, court action, and potentially foreclosure if violations go uncorrected, making it possible for the city to acquire the building.
Conrad Mallett, Detroit’s corporation counsel, acknowledged that taking over the property is “probably legally possible,” but said such a move would require direction from the mayor’s administration and a careful weighing of financial risk.
“You’re talking about a building that occupies an entire city block,” Mallett said. “The administration is going to have to weigh in and give the guidance to the law department.”
Sheffield has not yet publicly weighed in on the possibility of taking over the building.
Councilmember Denzel McCampbell predicted ownership may ultimately shift to the city anyway.
“I honestly think we’re going to get to the point where the city is going to get ownership of the building,” he said.
Tenants described the human toll of the evacuation.
Katherine Guyton, who lived at the Leland and cares for her 9-year-old grandson, said the ordeal has devastated her.
“This entire situation has cost me mentally, physically and emotionally,” she said. “The financial toll this has taken me through is devastating.”
Guyton lost her job at the Leland and says she has no permanent address.
“I no longer have an address or a place to call home. My savings are gone, my accounts are overdrafted, and I have lost my entire food supply,” she said, breaking down in tears. “I just want my voice to be heard. I’m hurting. What if it was your brother or sister or your niece or nephew or your grandmother?”
She pleaded with the city to let residents retrieve their belongings.
“We earned it. It’s ours, and we need it,” Guyton said. “We are tired of the excuses.”
The city has barred tenants from reentering the building to retrieve their belongings, saying the 99-year-old Leland is unsafe and has no electricity, lights, or a working elevator. The city offered to pay professional movers to get the belongings, but some tenants don’t want their valuable property in the hands of someone else.
Wendy Gill, who lived at the Leland for a decade, accused the city of committing “a backstabbing, vicious act upon our lives” by blocking access and failing to secure a long-term solution.
Dana Johnson said her siblings and some of her friends lived at the building and have been unable to get their prescription medication, artwork, and medical equipment.
“They want to retrieve their only belongings, not have some moving company come and grab their things they have had for 10-20 years,” Johnson said. “We know there was a break in. We don’t know if their stuff is still there.”
Melody Richards echoed those concerns.
“We don’t want anyone going through our property,” she said. “It has been very stressful on every resident at the Leland. Please listen to our opinions. Please do something.”
Daryl Stewart, a 67-year-old artist who has lived at the building since 2012, said residents cannot move forward without their possessions.
“You got stuff from Dad 50 years ago. You got stuff you collected for the last 20 years that you need to move forward, like birth certificates and social security cards. There is medical gear inside there,” Stewart said.
Mallett defended the city’s actions so far, pointing to standing water in the basement and a transformer failure that left the building without electricity.
“No electricity means no light. No electricity means no working elevators,” he said.
He placed responsibility squarely on the owner.
“The important question that is to be asked is, ‘Where is the ownership?’ Why is this the city’s responsibility? It is our moral obligation, but legally this is the owner’s responsibility.”
He said the city wants to use professional movers because they’re insured, have the experience, and can sign “a waiver absolving the city of Detroit of any liability.”
Council President James Tate said he was troubled by the tenants’ plight.
“My heart is broken when you talk about people not being able to get into their units,” Tate said.
Councilmember Renata Miller was even more blunt.
“This building didn’t just become unsafe to live in,” she said. “It is our responsibility.”
“Our best was not good enough,” she added. “It was not good enough for me, and it wasn’t good enough for our residents.”
Councilman Coleman Young II called the situation “gross negligence” by the owners.
Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero said the lack of access to documents is preventing residents from finding work.
“Something needs to happen. There needs to be action,” she said.
Councilwoman Mary Waters suggested nuisance abatement as a possible legal pathway, noting that the Detroit Land Bank routinely acquires properties deemed public nuisances.
Mallett cautioned that such a move would carry significant financial consequences and would require approval from the administration.
Sheffield has been in office just six weeks, and the Leland House dispute is shaping up to be her first major housing test. During her campaign, she promised aggressive action on affordability and tenant protections. Advocates say the Leland presents an opportunity to follow through.
The next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.