A battle over a controversial steam project in Detroit’s Lafayette Park Historic District is boiling over as residents accuse utility company Detroit Thermal of trespassing, violating permit conditions, and using intimidation tactics in an effort to install underground steam lines through their historic neighborhood.
Leaders of the cooperatively owned townhomes in Lafayette Park say Detroit Thermal resumed construction this month in defiance of a temporary restraining order, prompting renewed outrage and a call for city officials to intervene.
“Our neighborhood was at peace until Detroit Thermal, a foreign-owned company, inserted itself and started working on our private property to turn a profit, repeatedly trespassing without our permission,” Natalie Pruett, board director for the Nicolet Cooperative, said in a statement Tuesday. “Although Detroit Thermal has been evasive about its plans, it has been clear about its goal: taking a shortcut through our private property to minimize costs and maximize its profit.”
The project, which aims to connect the iconic 1300 Lafayette high-rise to the city’s steam heating network after its boilers failed in 2022, has been delayed by legal and political controversy. Critics say the company is exploiting public utility easements and relying on the city’s political influence to push through construction that threatens a nationally protected landscape designed by modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and renowned landscape architect Alfred Caldwell.
In a statement to Metro Times, Detroit Thermal spokesman Harvey Hollins III said the company is proceeding with the project legally and transparently.
“With approval of the Detroit Historic District Commission, the Department of Public Works, the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department, and the Michigan Public Service Commission, after two public hearings and multiple rounds of community consultation, Detroit Thermal has restarted the project to upgrade and reconnect its heating system to the 1300 East Lafayette Cooperative,” Hollins said. “Work began recently on a public street.”
He added, “The 600-plus residents at 1300 East Lafayette have repeatedly made it clear to City officials and the residents of neighboring cooperatives that the project must be completed this Fall. Any further delays will jeopardize our ability to provide heat to those residents this winter.”
But the co-op leaders contend the company has not followed the requirements outlined in the city’s Certificate of Appropriateness, which lays out conditions that Detroit Thermal must meet. They also say work resumed despite a restraining order issued by a Wayne County judge after residents filed a lawsuit against Detroit Thermal earlier this month. The suit accuses the utility of trespassing on their property, damaging historic landscaping, and pursuing an illegal plan to extend steam service through protected greenspace without the necessary rights or approvals.
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A July 16 complaint filed through the city’s Improve Detroit app triggered a site visit by city staff, who confirmed that work was taking place in violation of the COA.
Asked about this and other issues raised by the co-op, a city spokesman said Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett “is aware of the HDC position and is reviewing it.”
Co-op leaders say Detroit Thermal is acting recklessly and without regard for the residents who live in a historic district that by law should be protected.
“Detroit Thermal signed a contract to construct a new steam system. It then used that contract as an excuse to trespass on private property without notifying the property owners or obtaining the necessary permits,” said Leslie Lott, board director of the Joliet Cooperative. “Detroit Thermal took the approach of asking for forgiveness rather than permission, then it acts surprised when the property owners object. It complains when the City shuts down its work and upholds the law. Right now, it is operating in violation of state statutes and city codes as publicly posted by the City of Detroit. This is an ongoing pattern of behavior. Detroit Thermal ignores the rules and then blames others when presented with the consequences.”
The company also hired private security to monitor the site at Nicolet Place and posted signs directing inquiries to the city’s Law Department, despite that department reportedly objecting to its number being used.
“Detroit Thermal is attempting to create confusion and intimidate our residents,” Angela Fortino, board director of the LaSalle Cooperative, said. “Their actions are unacceptable. Residents of Lafayette and Nicolet Co-ops are already experiencing difficulties, including limited parking access and vehicles being tagged for towing due to construction activities.”
The legal dispute escalated last week when Detroit Thermal asked a judge to lift the temporary restraining order, warning that the project cannot be completed in time for winter if construction doesn’t resume by Aug. 4.
“Frankly, if Detroit Thermal does not get rightful access into its private and public utility easements by August 4, 2025, there will be insufficient time for Detroit Thermal to complete the necessary construction before the typical heating season begins on October 15, 2025,” the company wrote in its court filing.
Hollins expressed urgency.
“As we informed the court, if we cannot renew our work on the utility easement in Lafayette Park by Aug. 4 – in accordance with approvals granted by the Michigan Public Service Commission and several City of Detroit regulatory bodies, including the Historic Detroit Commission – we will not be able to upgrade and reconnect 1300 East Lafayette Cooperative to our heating system in time for the winter,” he said. “More than 600 Detroiters will be denied the heating solution they requested from Detroit Thermal.”
Hollins cast the dispute on “misinformed protests of some of their neighbors.”
“There is no other route,” Hollins said of bringing heat to the high rise. “There is no other alternative. There is no more time.”
Ed Broutin, a resident of 1300 Lafayette, says the building desperately needs heat before cold weather arrives.
“People need heat,” Broutin tells Metro Times. “There is a city statute that states people have to have heat. We have elderly people and children living here.”
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But residents of the townhomes say Detroit Thermal is relying on pressure tactics and political cover to push through a project that would cause lasting damage to a landscape considered one of the most significant modernist residential developments in the country. The area was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2015 and features carefully arranged townhomes, honey locust trees, and layered greenery that planners have warned cannot be replaced “in kind” if damaged by excavation.
“We urge the City of Detroit to uphold its own regulations and issue another immediate stop-work order,” Sammy Sater, president of the Joliet Cooperative, said. “The safety and well-being of our residents, and the integrity of our historic neighborhood, must be prioritized over Detroit Thermal’s misleading deadlines and aggressive tactics.”
The case is now playing out in court, where a judge will soon decide whether to remove the restraining order.
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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 5, 2025.