Verwood Apartments up for sale; village negotiates on parking lane, lot easement

By Jim Newell

Review Editor

The Verwood Apartments could be under new ownership soon, but one caveat of the deal hinges on the Village of Lake Orion granting a long-term parking lot easement lease to the prospective owners.

Legacy Equities LLC, a Farmington Hills-based real estate investment company, is the prospective purchaser.

Ari Zartarian, chief operations officer for Legacy Equities LLC, sent a letter, dated Jan. 17, to Village Manager Joe Young asking for a 30-year parking lease with the village. Zartarian, who spoke at the village council meeting on Monday, said the lease would make the “lenders feel more secure in their investment.”

“We’re eager to be a part of Lake Orion’s growth,” Zartarian said. “We’re only asking that you continue that long-term lease with us, as prospective owners.”

The village has a history of granting leases to new owners of The Verwood. Legacy Equities discussed the lease with council members during the village council meeting on Monday.

The Verwood Apartments are at 54 S. Broadway St., next to the current four-story apartment/retail/restaurant development at 102 and 120 S. Broadway St.

Lake Orion Developer Ron Zilka converted the abandoned building into apartments in 1982.

Currently, The Verwood, which has 18 units, provides gated parking for its tenants.

At issue is that Front Street west of Broadway Street is a one-way street. The Verwood’s gated parking uses one lane as the lane to enter the parking lot.

If the deal goes through, Village Manager Joe Young said the gated parking would be removed and that portion of Front Street would open up to two-way traffic. Front Street east of Broadway Street is open to two-way traffic.

Police Chief Jerry Narsh has told Young and the council that opening up the street to two-way traffic would increase traffic flow. There is also a concern about emergency vehicles being able to adequately use the road, Young said.

Under the terms of the current lease, The Verwood gets 23 parking spots for its tenants, with 22 years left on the lease under current owners, David and Irene Nowak of Groveland Manor LLC.

Young said the village has negotiated with Legacy Equities to get the number of parking spots down from 23 to 8. Many of the tenants would likely have to use long-term public lots for parking, or the village would have to identify and designate some other spots, he said.

Council President Ken Van Portfliet called the potential deal “a win-win” for everyone, and said Legacy Equities LLC is a well-established company with interests in other downtowns, such as Royal Oak and Plymouth.

“I think it’s important that we’re dealing with a quality company,” Van Portfliet said.

Zartarian and Legacy Equities are expected to attend the Feb. 11 village council meeting to readdress the lease.

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