The building that housed the former Clara Snow Branch Dearborn Public Library, 23950 Princeton St., was sold July 13 to attorney Amir Makled, and will be converted into law offices.
Library lockers to be placed in building
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – The City Council sold the former Clara Snow Branch Library building, 23950 Princeton, built in 1960, on July 13, for $560,000, to a law firm represented by attorney Amir Makled.
The library operations were closed at the Snow Branch in 2011, and the building has remained vacant since then.
The city’s original library building, the Bryant Branch, in downtown west Dearborn, was built in 1924, followed by the Esper Branch, in northeast Dearborn, in 1953.
The newest building, Henry Ford Centennial Library, built in 1969, is located near the City Administrative Center, and serves as the city’s main library.
Attorney Amir Makled (left) speaks at the July 13 Dearborn City Council meeting about the sale of the former Clara Snow Branch Library, as City Clerk George Darany, City Council members Leslie Herrick, Robert Abraham and Michael Sareini, City Council President Susan Dabaja, and City Council members Erin Byrnes and Brian O’Donnell listen.
The sale would put the building back on the city tax rolls, and no zoning variance would be needed.
A party interested in utilizing the building for a medical office building was the second highest bidder, and would likely require more parking than the proposed law office.
As a condition of the sale, the purchaser must obtain a certificate of occupancy within three years, and may not sell it before that time without city council approval.
John Bendzick of the Grindley Civic Association said there is neighborhood support for reopening the library, and reminded the council that there are two schools nearby, O.L. Smith Middle School and Nowlin Elementary School, whose students would benefit from a nearby library.
Makled said he recently had a conversation with the library director, and said they would work with the existing city program which puts remote lockers in other buildings, which allows residents to access library materials.
“We are invested in this city, and I intend to spend the rest of my career in our community,” he said.
Councilwoman Erin Byrnes, who said she lives in the neighborhood near the shuttered library and is a strong supporter of the city’s libraries, said she was pleased to hear that the law firm is interested in bridging the gap with library lockers.
“It made my heart smile, because it is such an important thing to bridge that gap with resources,” she said. “I really do hope that this is a win for the neighborhood, and with the parking situation, it is tricky to find the right buyer and use for it.”
Councilwoman Leslie Herrick stressed the need for library services in areas where there is no brick-and-mortar presence, and praised business-public partnerships like the one Makled proposed.
“Libraries today are not the libraries of 20 years ago,” she said. “A lot of things are online, and the buildings themselves have different features.
“The lockers are a great resource, because we do have residents in a variety of areas of the city that don’t have easy access to one of our brick-and-mortar buildings.”