Morningsider Article Gets Attention From Negligent Investor

In last month’s newsletter, we published photos of two of Grosse Pointe investor Blake Mikus’ blighted properties in Morningside. In response to that article, Blake attended our Blight Brigade meeting on June 22.

Blake denied that he owned the two properties that we highlighted in our last issue – 4605 Bedford and 4890 Bedford. He said that the Detroit Land Bank now holds the title to those properties, so he is no longer responsible for maintaining them. The Detroit Land Bank Authority, using its controversial Nuisance Abatement program, filed a lawsuit in 2021 against 13 Morningside properties— including 4605 and 4890--owned by Blake. The Nuisance Abatement program allows the Land Bank to seize vacant properties from owners who do not remove blight.

After the meeting we checked three sources for property ownership records – Regrid, (a national property database), the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office, and the Wayne County Register of Deeds. All three sources list one of Blake’s LLCs – he has at least seven – as the owner of record for the 13 houses in the lawsuit.

Though the lawsuit is still in progress, it is possible that the Detroit Land Bank is closer to taking Blake’s properties than the currently available public records reflect, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt at this point. Perhaps he believed he had already lost them.

We have reached out to the DLBA to find out exactly where Blake’s properties stand in this process and are waiting for a detailed response. Whether Blake currently holds the title to these properties or not, he still has to answer for what he has (or hasn’t) done with them over the past several years. That garage behind 4605 Bedford took years to collapse. If you drive past there now, you’ll see that the garage is gone and the property has been cleaned up. That was a result of the Mayor’s initiative, not Blake’s.

In the meantime, Blake Mikus isn’t the only investor that the Blight Brigade wants to challenge to maintain their properties and show our community the respect we deserve. Our goal remains a blight-free Morningside.

4605 Bedford. Image courtesy of Susan Newell