Community Corner

Lawsuit Aimed At Stopping Civic Center Project Tossed

The suit was brought by downtown business owners, who claimed that the development would hurt them.

ROYAL OAK, MI — A lawsuit looking to put the brakes on Royal Oak’s civic center development was thrown out Tuesday by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews. Downtown business owners that brought the suit failed to prove the project, which calls for an office building, a new city hall and police station and a parking deck, would harm them, Matthews ruled, according to a Daily Tribune report.

“The business owners “have not shown that they are entitled to standing as taxpayers because they have failed to make a clear statement of their prospective damages,” Matthews wrote in her opinion.
“Don Nahat, CEO and owner of Corp One, said he and the other business owners plan to appeal the decision. “They are going to devastate our businesses by putting in this project. We are people who are fighting for our business’s lives, some of which have been here for over 40 years.”
For more, go to the Daily Tribune.

Rendering courtesy of the city of Royal Oak

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Royal Oak