Hamtramck council moves to acquire five Wayne County tax‑foreclosure parcels

Hamtramck City Council on Aug. 1 considered Resolution 2025‑90 to accept the city's right of first refusal on five Wayne County tax‑foreclosure properties, a step council members said would let the city prioritize local buyers and shape redevelopment along a corridor.

Council members and staff described the package as five separate parcels: two in residential zoning and three in commercial zoning. The council heard a staff explanation that the city's standard practice is to take the properties first so the municipality can either sell them at auction or direct redevelopment through requests for proposals.

That staff member said, "There's 5 properties, and 2 of them are in residential districts. 3 of them are in a commercial district," and noted the city can "ask a developer to develop a certain kind of project" such as mixed‑use with housing above retail.

A presiding council member pointed to past practice and potential financial upside. "In 02/2022, we bought them for 48,000 and we sold them for 450,000," the presiding officer said, adding that while administration work has a cost, the city realized revenue and was able to help residents in prior years.

Council members discussed that some residents on social media urged leaving parcels to Wayne County auctions so any county resident could bid. Council members responded that taking first refusal allows the city to prioritize residents and local goals, while noting an auction would still occur in many cases.

The staff presentation said the city also could choose to run its own auction or issue a request for proposals to encourage targeted development that would "strengthen the corridor," language staff used when describing options for the three adjacent commercial lots.

The transcript records motions and discussion on Resolution 2025‑90 but does not provide a complete roll‑call vote tally in the available record. The motion text recorded in the meeting packet was to "approve action regarding Wayne County rate of first refusal properties." The council discussion included references to prior criteria for retaining primary residences for owners facing hardship and then auctioning remaining lots, which staff described as earlier local practice.

The resolution, as discussed, would give the city the option to acquire the listed parcels from Wayne County before they are offered to the wider public; specifics about each parcel's addresses, minimum purchase prices, or later disposition plans were not detailed in the transcript and were described by staff as "not specified" during the meeting.

City staff told council members there are several implementation options: keep property for city use, sell at a city‑run auction, or use an RFP to attract a developer for mixed use or affordable housing. Council members asked that the city follow criteria that prioritize primary‑residence occupants in hardship when feasible, a practice some said had been used previously.

The council did not discuss funding sources or specific budget impacts during the recorded discussion. Staff said the city's acquisition of tax‑foreclosed parcels is a routine statutory process but did not cite a particular statute by name during the recorded remarks.

The item remained on the record for a vote; the transcript available to this report does not include a complete vote tally or final disposition of each parcel in the body of the record.

The council moved on after discussion to other agenda items. Any council action to purchase or otherwise dispose of the parcels would be subject to separate administrative steps and, if required, public notice and auction procedures described by staff.