Media company looking to purchase, renovate GAR building

The castle-like the Grand Army of the Republic Building could be on its way to redevelopment once again.

A media company run by Tom and David Carelton has put an offer into the city for $220,500 to purchase the GAR building, with an additional plan of $2 million for renovation.

Renovation would include a restaurant, office space, a gift shop and exhibit space for Civil War memorabilia.

Excerpt:

The GAR Building, bounded by Cass, Grand River and West Adams, was completed in 1901. It was to be used as a memorial and a home for the community's Civil War veterans. But as Civil War veterans died off, the GAR Building was used to house city offices until 1982. The next year, the city gave the property to one developer but reclaimed the parcel in 1993 after no progress had been made.

Since then, the city has tried unsuccessfully to find someone to rehabilitate the building. Plans were stymied until several years ago after a lawsuit, filed by the family members of long-dead Civil War veterans, was settled. As part of that deal, the city agreed that whoever gets the building must maintain its architectural details, such as a mosaic, which illustrates its history.

Read the entire article here.