Detroit, MI
Fate of Detroit bead museum building awaits ruling
Detroit — The fate of a bejeweled building by Detroit’s African Bead Museum remains is in limbo awaiting a decision on demolition or the chance to turn it into a gallery on the city’s northwest side.
Building 101, located at 6559 Grand River Ave., showcases artwork by Olayami Dabls, who founded the MBAD African Bead Museum. The art is embedded in the brick but the building is in “a state of significant collapse” after the roof and floor caved in, city inspectors said.
The building’s future was debated for three hours during an administrative hearing before the Department of Appeals on Wednesday. Hearing Officer Joilynn Hunt said she would issue a ruling within five days.
During the hearing, the city presented three building inspectors and a project manager who flew a drone over the building. The inspectors noted the building is open to trespassing at the rear, there’s a collapsed roof, and interior walls and floors. Inspectors testified they also observed a slightly leaning façade that could fall over onto the sidewalk.
“Exterior walls are standing as an empty shell,” said Nabil Jaafar, a city inspector of dangerous buildings. “The building has lost the roof and floors. The exterior walls become structurally unsound and unstable without any support. Being open to the elements can cause further deterioration and you’re going to end up with either total or partial collapse. The corner of Grand River and Vinewood Street is a particular concern as it is near apartments, a school and a church.”
The building was inspected in September and May, when officials noted that Dabls invited inspectors to review the building in its entirety.
Bryce Anderson Small, known professionally as Bryce Detroit who is a member of the museum, assisted Dabls in representation at the hearing saying they are excited and proud that they have been organizing a plan to remedy the site.
“We submitted an appeal to have the demolition order stopped because there’s a plan for how this building is to be stabilized and renovated into an actual museum. We have a structural engineer to show the absolute viability of our immediate solution and a letter of our fiscal sponsor and funds committed to support the necessary step forward,” Small said.
Still, the city argues that the building is in dire shape with numerous violations and needs to be demolished to protect residents.
“The fact that this is an art installation is not relevant to this building being a danger to the community,” said city attorney Lorinda Lindsay.
The bead museum, which opened 31 years ago, is known for its unique exterior, featuring a large, colorful mural includes beads, African symbols, artwork and jagged mirrors that cover the building. Dabls said he uses mirrors because they give people a chance to look at themselves in perhaps a way they never have.
Since 1998, the museum has drawn thousands of visitors from around the world. But Dabls never got around to opening the museum in the building. He has a retail shop in the next building. The centerpiece of the museum’s campus is a sculpture garden with 18 installations, all conceived and created by Dabls.
In an online post earlier this month, he issued a call for help to restore the front building, but did not expect the city to be drawn to the fully collapsed roof. Within 48 hours, the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department issued an emergency demolition order for the building, which is separate from the Dabls’ retail shop and not slated for demolition.
City officials “moved so fast. I only had a week to respond to the demolition order because they said it was a safety emergency,” said Dabls on Tuesday. “I still appealed but, weirdly, they think this is an emergency when the building has been here for 25 years and has been in a state of collapse for the last 13 years.”
The demolition was delayed after Dabls quickly submitted an appeal. Notable artists and community leaders stopped by early Tuesday to show support of saving the structure, including architectural metal design artist Carlos Nielbock; Jessica Care Moore, the city’s poet laureate; and musician Audra Kubat.
“It’s his life’s work, his purpose,” Nielbock said. “That’s why we come to show support and just because they delayed it, doesn’t mean it’s time to celebrate.”
Earlier this summer, Dabls launched a GoFundMe to raise $200,000 for the first phase of renovations to the front building to create a space for African-based exhibitions and arts education programs for children and community groups.
“We’ve never had a lot of visitors, but I hope this a resurgence of something new,” Dabls said.
srahal@detroitnews.com
X: @SarahRahal_
Detroit’s QLINE streetcar system: Quick facts to know
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More than a decade ago, a juror in a Detroit public corruption trial that ended with three men getting convicted in a $97 million bribery scheme exclaimed: “Hopefully this is the end of this nightmare … this is a whole new beginning.”
It didn’t quite go that way as the following years saw two city councilmen indictments, a dozen school principal bribery convictions, a towing scandal, as well as a toxic dirt and demolition fiasco.
And now there’s this.
In a new criminal filing in U.S. District Court, a former city official in charge of the Detroit People Mover shuttle is charged with taking $300,000 in bribes from a businessmen who reportedly billed the city for work that was never performed — all with the help of his connected associate.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, June 2 in U.S. District Court, the alleged scheme involves 55-year-old Michael Anderson, a former director with the Detroit Transportation Corporation, who allegedly helped Detroit businessman Terrence Parker bill the city for nearly $305,000 in information technology work that was never performed.
Moreover, court records show, Parker’s company has no experience with IT work, but rather performs restoration work on homes damaged by storms and natural disasters. Still, the FBI says, Parker managed to submit 22 phony invoices to the DTC for IT work, including fixing computer monitors — and got paid for all of it. That’s because Anderson was approving his phony invoices from the inside, the government says, and getting money in exchange for his help.
Anderson and Parker both are charged with conspiracy and federal program theft/bribery and face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted. They were released on bond following their initial appearances in U.S. District Court. Their court-appointed lawyer could not be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, Anderson, who was hired by the city in 2022, was in charge of overseeing People Mover operations until he was fired in April for conduct unrelated to the pending criminal case. Parker owns a business called Total Care Restoration (TCR), which performs restoration work on homes damaged by fire, water, windstorms, or other elements.
According to the government, Parker was billing the DTC for information technology services, even though his company has no experience in that field, nor has it ever submitted a bid proposal to the city for such work, or signed any contract with the DTC.
Still, the government alleges, between 2023-25, the DTC paid nearly $305,000 to TCR for 23 invoices it had submitted, 22 of those invoices charged for IT services.
“Anderson approved the invoices and Parker deposited the checks into TCR’s bank account. TCR did not submit any invoices or receive any payments before Anderson was hired as Procurement Director. Likewise, TCR did not submit any invoices or receive any payments after Anderson was fired as Procurement Director,” the complaint states.
According to the government, Anderson did actually procure and manage IT contracts with a number of companies while he worked for the DTC. But TCR was billing the city for work that those companies had been contracted to do.
“At least six TCR invoices listed work that was actually contracted to (another company),” an FBI agent wrote in his affidavit attached to the criminal complaint.
Also noteworthy, the FBI agent writes: “Most of TCR’s invoices contained a charge for debris removal. In my experience, debris removal is a common line item for restoration projects but not for IT work.”
According to the complaint, the FBI figured out that Parker was funneling money to Anderson by reviewing their bank records, and noticing that their deposits and withdrawals coincided. For example, on Aug. 16, 2024, Parker deposited a DTC check for $23,934 and withdrew $18,000 cash. That same day and over the next several days, Anderson made cash deposits into his account for $1,500, $1,300, $1,000, $700 and $1,850.
“There is probable cause to believe that Parker paid Anderson a portion of the money from the TCR invoices,” the FBI agent writes.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com
Javier Báez hits home run in 2026 spring training with Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Báez talks to reporters during spring training February 27, 2026, at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Detroit Tigers shut down two of their shortstops on the injured list.
The biggest name?
Javier Báez.
The 33-year-old has been shut down from baseball activities after meeting with a specialist Monday, June 1, about the lack of progress in recovery from a right high ankle sprain, which he suffered April 28. (The Tigers also shut down Trey Sweeney, who has been sidelined with a right shoulder strain since spring training and needs further medical evaluation.)
“We’re still dissecting all the diagnoses and what’s going on with him,” manager A.J. Hinch said of Báez before Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. “He’s just not progressing very quickly, and right now, rest is still part of the equation.”
The Tigers tried to start Báez’s return-to-play progression with running, hitting and fielding drills.
He still felt symptoms of the high ankle sprain.
“I’m not a doctor,” Hinch said, “but I understand it watching Javy go through a very slow process of the swelling and the bleeding and all the things that go on inside that type of sprain.”
How long until Báez returns to baseball activities?
The timeline is unknown.
He isn’t expected to need surgery, which means he should return at some point after the All-Star break in 2026.
“From what I was told, we’re on the right path and everything is going well,” Hinch said. “These are just really tricky. The path that we’re on, we’re just going to go slow. Baseball activity is going to slow down because we’ve got to make sure we’re taking care of the symptoms.”
Before the injury, Báez played in 24 games for the Tigers, hitting .256 with two home runs, two walks and 16 strikeouts. The injury occurred while running to first base against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, as he tried to avoid a tag with an awkward slide.
The 13-year MLB veteran’s contract with the Tigers runs until November 2027. He is in the penultimate season of a six-year, $140 million contract from December 2021.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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