LAKETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Ownership of an 84-year-old Laketown Township house has returned to the Parks Commission.
The Huyser House was first built in 1939. Owners Manuel and Lilah Huyser donated the home and the surrounding 102-acre property to Laketown Township back in 2001 before they passed away. The land was donated with the purpose of becoming a park, township officials say.
Potential owners included the Board, Parks Commission and the Building Authority.
We’re told the Parks Commission opted to relinquish ownership of the home to the Building Authority on March 15, instructing them to draft plans for the home before a Sept. 15 deadline.
The deadline was met with plans to turn the house into a “Living Legacy Center” that would serve as an office, gallery or history site, according to the township. The Parks Commission expressed disapproval for the plan, resulting in a funding freeze until the township’s attorney decided who owns the property.
Attorney Ron Bultje announced Nov. 1 the home belongs to the Parks Commission, officials say.
“Though the Parks Commission has control over the house, the Township Board controls funding for whatever the parks group decides to do, whether renovate or demolish,” says Bultje.
Bultje recommends that the Parks Commission makes “deliberate and specific” decisions on the home’s future.
The cost to repair them home is estimated at roughly $125,000.
