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DBA board member urges closer scrutiny of city commercial-property sales
Summary
Board member Maggie DeSantis, interviewed for reappointment to the Detroit Building Authority, told the council committee the authority manages commercial property disposition and she urged more public scrutiny and a review of the use of outside real-estate contractors.
Maggie DeSantis, a long-serving appointee to the Detroit Building Authority (DBA), told the Internal Operations Standing Committee on May 7 that the DBA handles management and disposition of city-owned commercial property and that the council should consider closer oversight of that function.
DeSantis, who said she has served on the DBA board since 2014, described efforts to institute an annual budget process, improve community engagement on building authority projects and lift up Black-, Brown- and women-owned contractors. "The building authority is responsible for the management and disposition of city owned commercial property," she told the committee, noting that the Detroit Land Bank Authority covers residential property and receives different public scrutiny.
She told councilmembers the building authority contracts with outside real‑estate firms to market and dispose of commercial parcels and said those contractors’ focus on "highest and best use"—a real-estate term that prioritizes maximum sales value—may not always align with community development goals in neighborhoods with long-term disinvestment. "I would argue that in this city ... we have to apply a different standard," DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the DBA has advantages in moving projects quickly but questioned whether the current mix of staff and contractors is the best model for disposition of commercial property; she suggested the council examine whether the DBA or another entity should handle that work.
Councilmembers asked how much influence board members have over marketing decisions and whether the DBA itself could perform disposition work rather than contracting it out. DeSantis said board influence is limited to contracting decisions and that day‑to‑day marketing and property management are handled by contractors; she said the DBA’s core expertise is building projects and that a close review would be appropriate.
Councilmember Leticia Johnson asked for the reappointment to be brought back in one week; the committee agreed to return the item for formal action at a later date. DeSantis also urged the authority and council to incorporate more green practices in city buildings.
The committee did not vote on the reappointment at the May 7 meeting; staff said a resolution could be drafted for the next council meeting.
