Kulick Community Center deemed unusable, Ferndale schools weighing options for future use

FERNDALE — Ever since its closure in 2020, the use of the Kulick Community Center has been up in the air.

The Kulick Community Center was shut down in November 2020 due to what was called infrastructure failures. It had been the home of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

There had been no update on the building until almost two years later, when the city of Ferndale decided to end its lease agreement with Ferndale Public Schools for the use of the center, located at 1201 Livernois St., reverting full rights back to the district.

The district has been mulling what to do with the century-old building and, after two different audits, Superintendent Bobbie Goodrum said the center is not structurally sound and can’t be used again.

“I know we have no intention of selling it in the immediate future. We don’t have any choice … but to deconstruct the building,” she said. “There are some environmental concerns that are being investigated, and the initial thought is just to keep it as green space.”

Ferndale Public Schools has formed a facilities planning committee to evaluate buildings in the district such as the Kulick Center.

Director of School Community Relations and Pupil Accounting Robert Tolbert, who also is a member of the committee, said the decision on Kulick was based on its viability, and the structure’s repairs were outside the cost to make it feasible.

“We are actually looking to determine whether or not the plans for green space make sense,” he said. “Some of that’s already been discussed, but there’s no firm plan as yet for the building. … At this point, the decision hasn’t been finalized, but I can tell you that that building itself, structurally, there’s no feasible use for it as a structure in and of itself.”

Tolbert stated that the district will retain ownership of the land that the Kulick Center sits on and that the district is not entertaining a rezoning of the area. He also said the committee will hold open sessions with the public on how to proceed with the Kulick area in the fall.

“The district will not make these decisions in a vacuum,” he said. “We will post open-to-the-public listening sessions in the fall before making any firm decisions.”

Goodrum did state that she was disappointed the district won’t be able to utilize the Kulick building in the future.

“It was a nice building,” she said. “It is unfortunate that the structural challenges have been deemed to be insurmountable.”