LAKETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The historic Huyser House moved a step closer to its planned demolition last week with the township accepting a bid for teardown, again passing on a resident's proposal to personally renovate and rent out the home.
On Wednesday, March 13, the Laketown Township Board voted 3-1 in favor of a $29,845 bid from Specialized Demolition Inc., a Hamilton-based company.
"Until it's demolished, there's hope," said Steven Ringelberg, a township resident who biked to the Huyser House as a child, buying produce from its original owners.
In 1939, Manuel and Lilah Huyser built the two-story structure on 102 acres of blueberry-growing land. Years later in 2001, the house and property were donated to the township after the couple passed.
"I don't think it's been forgotten," Ringelberg said. "But we live in challenging times: People don't like spending tax dollars."
For more than two decades, the Huyser House remained vacant and fell further into disrepair. Vandalism plagued the residence. Lead paint and asbestos kept it inhabitable, leading the Laketown Township Parks Commission to task the building authority with creating a "doable" plan for the house within six months time.
In August 2023, the building authority submitted a proposal to turn the house into a Living Legacy Center, a course of action that would cost the township $125,000.
The parks commission turned down the proposal, later unanimously voting to demolish the structure, a significantly cheaper option for the township.
"We build bike paths. Nobody expects to make money on them, but they raise the quality of life," said Ringelberg, reasoning that the property shouldn't need to be profitable for it to be preserved.
Prior to the commission's vote for demolition, Ringelberg also offered to renovate the Huyser House "on my nickel," renting it out to recoup the cost of construction. When fully paid off, he would then return the house to the township.
"The response was too little, too late," Ringelberg said.
Due to easements placed the property by the Huyser family, the township cannot sell the residence without selling the entirety of Huyser Park, where the house is located.
While the township board and parks commission have both moved forward with a bid for demolition, Ringelberg hopes they will reverse couse.
"We should keep it," Ringelberg said. "The experiences we all have learning about the past really help us as we move into the present."
