The City of Oak Park is requesting a finding by the Oakland County Circuit Court that the historic WWJ Transmitter property and structure, located at 12700 8 Mile Rd. in Oak Park, is a public nuisance. The City is also requesting an order from the Court requiring abatement by the owner, ATE Mile, LLC. 

The City of Oak Park is requesting a finding by the Oakland County Circuit Court that the historic WWJ Transmitter property and structure, located at 12700 8 Mile Rd. in Oak Park, is a public nuisance. The City is also requesting an order from the Court requiring abatement by the owner, ATE Mile, LLC. 

ATE Mile, LLC purchased the property on March 7, 2016 for $165,000 from Richland Towers with the intent to locate a restaurant, 8MK, within the building. A Special Land Use Site Plan for the restaurant was approved in September 2017 by the City of Oak Park Planning Commission. Had the restaurant come to fruition it would have joined the growing list of other Union Joints Group properties.

However, advancement toward a restaurant on the four and a half-acre property has not come to fruition. Rather, a lawsuit is being brought against ATE Mile, LLC by the City of Oak Park because of the poor condition of the structure and the PCP contamination in the basement of the structure. The basement of the structure has also flooded, creating an imminent risk that PCP contamination will spread to the surrounding property and wetlands, creating a clear and present threat to the health, safety and welfare of the surrounding community.

“The WWJ property has historic significance not only to Oak Park, but truly to the State of Michigan,” said City Manager Erik Tungate. “To witness the property further deteriorate the way it has is concerning on many fronts, particularly when considering the health, safety and welfare of the community.”

The historic, 1936 art-deco building was built as a radio station transmitter building and was used as such until 1995 when it closed.  Since then, the building has remained vacant.

In 2014, a power outage caused the basement of the unoccupied building to flood. This flooding then caused two basement transformers to explode, releasing PCB oils into the basement; this water was later pumped out onto a grass covered area in the rear of the property. Testing for PCB contamination in both the building and on the grass was completed in December 2015 by Union Joints, prior to purchasing the property, as part of their due diligence. The environmental sampling included building concrete and soil samples.  Analytical results from the tests indicated concentrations of PCBs above cleanup criteria were detected in all the concrete samples and one of the soil samples.  Based on the results, it was recommended that the impacted concrete in the basement either be removed or encapsulated.  It was also recommended that the PCB detected in the grass area be further delineated and then either removed or controlled with an engineer control. 

 “I have worked with the team at Union Joints to find grant funded resources to abate the contaminants, stabilize the deterioration of the building and find possible additional grant or lending resources to make the project a reality,” said City of Oak Park Municipal Services Director Kimberly Marrone. “I believed in their vision for this building and had been reassured throughout the years of their commitment to complete the project.  Their announcement that they no longer plan to pursue this project is disappointing.  It is now our duty to the public to ensure further contamination does not occur and that the building is no longer a public nuisance.”

The City of Oak Park has successfully applied for grants on behalf of ATE Mile, LLC on several occasions. In 2016, the City of Oak Park applied for, and was awarded, a $15,000 Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Placemaking Grant to create artwork on the property. Then, in 2018 the City applied for, and was awarded, a $600,000 Brownfield Grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to address and cleanup contaminants. This cleanup work was to be completed by 2021. ATE Mile, LLC hired Applied Environmental to perform the abatement work, and then in 2020 it was learned that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needed to approve the cleanup activities, which they did.

Following the EPA’s approval of the abatement work, the City of Oak Park and ATE Mile, LLC applied for, and was awarded, an additional $360,000 in Brownfield Grant funding in June of 2023. A month prior to receiving these grant funds, the City of Oak Park was awarded a Stabilization grant through Oakland County and MSHDA, on behalf of ATE Mile, LLC, to stabilize the property in the amount of $550,000. This grant was applied for following written assurance from the property owners that they still planned to proceed with the project.

 “Throughout these challenges, your guidance through the grant process and the commitment to the project has been remarkable,” said Union Joints Owners Curt Catallo and Ann Stevenson in an April 17, 2023 letter regarding the status of the project.

Only months after receiving more than $900,000 in additional grant funds to remediate and stabilize the former WWJ property, the City of Oak Park was informed that ATE Mile LLC, no longer wanted to proceed with the project.

Following this notification, the City toured the property and learned that the power in the structure had been disconnected and that property had not been maintained and was in violation of many code ordinances. Additionally, it was discovered that the basement had flooded once again, potentially releasing PCBs into the water.

“The City has been diligent in assisting the property owner to improve upon a historic Oak Park property for the betterment of the community, in regard to both health and safety and economic development,” said Tungate. “We must always keep residents’ quality of life a top priority, which is why we are now taking these next steps.”

The City of Oak Park has made several requests to the property owner to address the issues regarding the property and structure. The property owner has failed to address these concerns, despite the City's efforts to secure grants to assist the owner with environmental remediation.