Hill Harper envisions bright future for Detroit building cited for blight violations

3975 Cass (left) and 3977 Cass (right) in Detroit. Both properties are owned by the Pierce and Hill Harper Arts Foundation.

Blight ordinance violation notices have been issued to a property owned by a foundation operated by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hill Harper, although he says he is committed to renovating the property and turning it into a community asset.  

According to city of Detroit records, a vacant commercial property at 3975 Cass Avenue, owned by the Pierce and Hill Harper Arts Foundation, has twice failed inspection by the city, once on March 22, and then again on June 28. 

Among the violations noted in the correction orders were failing to properly secure the two-story building, which required “police to sweep entire interior for removal of squatters,” as well as failing to do the following; remove graffiti and peeling paint, maintain a visible address, maintain a fence on the south side of the property in sound condition, maintain glazing materials free from and holes in good repair, properly barricade openings, and keep the premises free of any debris and garbage. Additionally, the notices said there had been a failure to arrange for an interior inspection, secure required certificate of compliance, and secure a certificate of vacant property registration. 

Harper, who has drawn attention for a fundraiser this week featuring controversial comedian Dave Chappelle, is running as a progressive as he seeks the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on Aug. 6, facing off against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly). Also in the U.S. Senate race are four Republicans: former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) and Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.), businessman Sandy Pensler and Dr. Sherry O’Donnell, a physician and former 2022 congressional candidate.

Harper told the Michigan Advance on Sunday night that his foundation came into ownership of the building, and an adjoining house, in 2021 after being contacted by the Arts Center Music School, which owned the properties, but had fallen behind in paying water fees to the city and was facing a hostile buyout by a developer. 

“I got a call from an older Black woman who was just in hysterics, and she said, ‘You’re the only person that can help me. They’re stealing our building tomorrow.’ And I said, ‘What building?’ She was on the board of the Arts Center Music School, the oldest art school, music school in the history of Detroit,” said Harper, who had his lawyer attend a hearing and file for an injunction to stop the purchase, and then spent another $75,000 to pay off the water bill and cover legal fees to halt the developer’s attempt at gaining control of the property.  

Harper said the school then asked if his foundation, the Pierce and Hill Harper Arts Foundation, could take over the property, so that it could retain its heritage as an arts institution.

“This is when I say no good deed goes unpunished,” Harper said, while laughing. “They wanted me to take on the responsibility of those things, and I said I would do it. And so they basically transferred them to my foundation.”

According to the Wayne County Register of Deeds, the Music Arts School Inc. sold 3975 Cass to Harper’s foundation by a quitclaim deed in 2021, which transferred ownership without any guarantee of a clear title, meaning the school was not liable for any problems that might arise after the transfer. A warranty deed transfer was then implemented in 2022.

The foundation which is in Harper’s name and that of his young son, is listed under his address at the Fisher Mansion in the Boston Edison neighborhood. It was created in 2019 as a nonprofit public charity. However, IRS records show its tax exempt status was revoked in August 2022 for “not filing a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years.” 

Harper said the foundation, which remains licensed as a nonprofit with the state of Michigan, never filed those forms because it never spent any money, and that all of the costs associated with obtaining the Cass property and securing it have come out of his own pocket.

“We haven’t done anything yet and we’re not spending any money, per se,” he said. “I wasn’t raising any money, and no one donated any money.”

He said the foundation, which remains licensed as a nonprofit in Michigan, was originally envisioned as something that would create an art space at his home, including hosting an artist in residence program, but with ownership of the Cass property, he sees that as its new mission.

As recently as March, the foundation, which appears to have no obvious website or social media presence, was mentioned in a biography of Hill used for an appearance at Talladega College where he gave the commencement address. However, it was not listed on a campaign finance disclosure report filed late last year.

The building in question has a storied history. According to a 1992 report to the Detroit City Council, the building at 3975 Cass was originally the home of the William R. Hamilton Funeral Home, “a well-established Detroit business over 100 years old. The residential component on the corner of Cass and Alexandrine (3977 Cass), originally the Robert H. Brown House, was the work of one of Detroit’s leading residential architects of the late 19th century; the adjoining structure on Cass is an excellent example from the second wave of Egyptian Revival popularized during the Art Deco period.”

In 1981, the property was sold to Dr. Nellie Huger Ebersole, head of the Art Center Music School, which was established in 1922 with a “mission is to provide quality music instruction to low and moderate income families at affordable rates.”

According to the 1992 report, Ebersole and her husband, Amos, through the years fostered the careers of outstanding Black artists, “among them Joseph Cole, baritone, Estelle Andrews, soprano, Constance Hardy, coloratura soprano, and George Shirley, the first black tenor to perform with the York Metropolitan Opera. Hugh Downs, host of 20/20, was a pupil of Dr. Ebersole.”

Harper says his goal is to continue that tradition, although he acknowledges it will be a long-term project, likely to cost tens of millions of dollars. He says he invited an archivist with the Illitch organization to tour the building in February and at this point he is waiting to receive their recommendations on how to proceed with rehabilitation.

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Meanwhile, Harper said he has been trying to work with the city and figure out what they saw as the priority.

“Because there were some unhoused folks that had broken in at one point and had sort of set up a camp, I thought that the main point was to secure the space to make sure it’s safe and secure and people are not in there and falling through the stairs that are in disrepair and all of that stuff,” said Harper. “I felt like we had done that, and since there had never been really citations before for all those years, and all of a sudden, it’s getting citations, I thought maybe they’re citing it because of security.”

Harper said he made sure the windows were secured and even hired a landscaper to cut the lawn and trim the bushes.  

“I’m just trying to keep doing incremental improvements,” he said. “I’m not at a point where I can just fence the whole place in and start a massive construction project. I don’t have the resources to do that. So it’s got to be incremental, and I’m doing the best I can.” 

A July 15 virtual hearing is set on the citation issued after the June 28 inspection, and Harper hopes to demonstrate that he is making progress.

“Obviously, it’s no good for me to have any kind of citations or blight or anything like that, so I want to get it solved as quick and as best I can,” he said.

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