20 years after its start, construction to resume on Perfecting Church project on Woodward

Construction is expected to resume this fall on the long-stalled megachurch on Woodward Avenue and Seven Mile in Detroit.

City Council last month approved a rezoning request for Pastor Marvin Winans’ Perfecting Church at 19150 Woodward Ave. for several improvements to the project that has been under construction for 20 years. In completing the church, the plan is to redevelop 4 acres of adjacent land for more than 600 surface parking spots, move offices into the church, and build a chapel, school, coffee shop, bookstore and outdoor amphitheater.

Work could start in October, with an anticipated completion date by March 2026, Cindy Flowers, chief executive officer of Perfecting Church, said in an email to the Free Press. The timeline depends on the city’s approval of building permits.

The city sued Winans and his church last year, alleging that the church has not been issued a building permit since July 2015 and that overgrown vegetation and blight emerged at the property, resulting in a public nuisance.

The city claimed it was dangerous and unsafe to the public and required Winans to clean up the property and correct any violations, or risk handing it over to the city. Winans was also required to meet certain deadlines to provide a building status report to the city.

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The two parties later reached a deal and the city dropped the lawsuit. The developer was required to submit relevant documentation showing evidence of financing and to obtain various city approvals before resuming construction. City Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett indicated that the goal was not to take the building away but to spur progress that would result in a completed church. Mallett told the Free Press that the city will not issue a hard timeline this time around.

"The public nuisance lawsuit filed by the city of Detroit was dismissed per agreement of the parties. (City Planning Commission) and the Detroit City Council have at this point approved Perfecting's new planned district request. Construction-related permit requests have been filed with (Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department) and are being evaluated. Because progress is being made, the city of Detroit has determined it is in everyone's interest to stand down and not insist on agreed upon timeline compliance."

The project's long history

Damon Tooles of Tooles Contracting Group, representing the church before the City Planning Commission in December, recounted the backstory of the stalled construction. Based on his understanding, the project began around 2004 when Perfecting Church gained its initial planning approvals.

The church then sought financing and obtained a $49 million construction loan in 2006, he said. But soon the Great Recession arrived.

“As part of their construction loan, there was a clause for the bank to be able to call the loan due if a financial crisis occurred," Tooles said. "The bank called the loan due. The church paid the project off — I think to the tune of $13 million — and took control of it. At that time, they mothballed it ... and at this time, they are ready to reengage the project."

The new plan calls for fewer seats in the church — 3,365 compared with 4,236 before; surface parking rather than a parking deck; and none of the neighboring townhouses initially envisioned.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.