Lathrup Village council rejects offer for House-in-the-Woods property

LATHRUP VILLAGE — The Lathrup Village City Council decided to hold off on an offer for the former location of the House-in-the-Woods.

At its Aug. 15 meeting, the council reviewed an offer for $100,000 cash and had to determine whether it was something they wanted to accept or send back to get a different offer.

Jon Ruud, an agent with Keller Williams, stated that an individual will be buying the property and plan on building two or three homes on the land.

“So these are two or three separate properties,” he said. “They’re not a three-unit property or two. These are separate properties, and the family plans on building them, and the family members are going to be moving into these houses.”

The House-in-the-Woods once was a large mansion owned by Louise Lathrup that was built in 1926. According to the Lathrup Village Historical Society, the two-story home was 10,600 square feet and contained three kitchens, three garages and four bathrooms, in addition to the many other rooms housed within.

Lathrup only lived in the home for a couple of years before leaving. The mansion would later be used to host meetings for the city’s Woman’s Club, fashion shows and other events. It also was used as the first City Hall from 1953 to 1962.

However, on June 19, 2009, the house was struck by lightning and caught on fire. The Historical Society stated that it hired an architect at the time to determine if the mansion could be saved. While the architectural integrity was recapturable, “rebuilding the house was unlikely to be financially feasible.” The house was later demolished at the city’s expense.

Huud stated that when the property went up for sale, it initially was listed for $250,000 by a previous broker. It later was brought down to $190,000 in January and then to $150,000 a couple months later.

“This is the first offer that we’ve received, written offer,” he said. “That’s about where we’re at, and if any offer is accepted, whether it’s countered this evening or whether you accept this offer, it will be put on the market accepting backup offers. You never know what’s going to come through as far as what they want to have there. They’re speaking about building a 2,200-square-foot house. So I know that that’s within the limits of … what the city would want. What else they want to do with property is speculative.”

The council shared its disappointment in the $100,000 offer it received. Mayor Kelly Garrett said she personally wanted to have a counteroffer for the property.

City Administrator Susan Montenegro suggested to the council and the city that they should not give a price back to the buyer and that, if there is true sincerity in the offer, they should tell them that price is “not acceptable and they need to come back with a different offer.”

“That way, you don’t tip your hat,” she said. “We’ve got it listed at ($150,000), so that is the price we’re hoping to get. Beyond that, just don’t mention the price point and have them come back with another offer.”

The council agreed, and voted to reject the offer for the home and request a new one in a 4-0 vote.