Perfecting Church says it spent $200k to restart project

Perfecting Church is finally telling its side of the story publicly, denying the city's portrayal of its land as a blighted public nuisance.

Why it matters: The church could lose prime real estate at Woodward and 7 Mile due to an ongoing lawsuit the city filed last month.

• The property in question is the site of a stalled megachurch project that has sat unfinished for nearly 20 years.

Catch up fast: The city sued Perfecting and its well-known pastor, Marvin Winans, because the construction project "is incomplete, abandoned and a massive example of blight and misuse of land," city lawyers wrote in the suit.

Yes, but: The lawsuit was an aggressive about-face from a more cooperative stance the city had with the church as recently as December, according to a new court filing from Perfecting.

• That's when Winans met with the city's corporation counsel, Conrad Mallett, and was told "the city is looking to partner with the church," per the filing.

Driving the news: The church also claims in the filing that the project was reinvigorated last year with the hiring of a new construction manager and architectural firm.

• More than $200,000 was spent in the last year to restart the project, Perfecting attorney Matthew Schenk told the city in a January letter.

The other side: Mallett does not wish to comment any further on this lawsuit, city spokesperson John Roach tells Axios.

• Mallett had previously given interviews to multiple news outlets, including Axios, on the topic.

What's next: Perfecting intends to ask the court to rule soon on whether the property meets the legal standard of a public nuisance — a designation the city is relying on to force the property's cleanup.