Ypsilanti officials want Thompson Block action within 30 days

Ypsilanti officials will be serving the owner of the Thompson Block with an order to either demolish or permanently stabilize the structure, severely damaged by a Sept. 23 fire, according to blogger Mark Maynard.

Stewart Beal, owner of the 30,000-square-foot building on the eastern edge of Depot Town, told AnnArbor.com in October that he'd finished building scaffolding around the building to stabilize the historic facade. That, he said, was the first step toward saving the remaining historic elements of the buildilng.

The scaffolding is shown in this file photo.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com

In a post on Friday, Maynard published the text of a letter from City Manager Ed Koryzno, detailing the city's intent to notify Beal on Monday that he'll have 30 days to comply with the order.

According to the post, Koryzno wrote: "In the order we are asking the property owner to either demolish (obviously after obtaining historic district commission approval), or in the alternative, permanently stabilize the structure from the interior so the roadway is no longer blocked."

No cause for the fire has been determined, but fire officials said they believe it was due to arson. Fire officials are waiting for results of lab tests from the Michigan State Police crime lab.

Beal said in AugustÂ he was ready to start construction again on the building after inactivity due to problems with financing.

The building has been a key element of Ypsilanti's redevelopment hopes for the past several years, after the city pursued legal action against previous owner David Kircher.

Read the post on MarkMaynard.com here.