PHOENIX — A years-long property battle on 7th Avenue and Van Buren is finally settled.
A century-old, nearly three-acre laundry building in the heart of downtown Phoenix has been a headache for the owners.
On Wednesday, the Phoenix City Council agreed with the owners on a path forward.
Marilyn Milum, Owner of Milum Textile Services said, “We don't think it's safe for any kind of public use." Going on to say, “We can't get any insurance on it right now because it's too much of a liability.”
Their building has sat unused for years. Now in retirement, the Milums tried to get rid of their nest egg in 2019 when they sold the business separately.
"We were going to retain the property and sell it," Marilyn said. "We never knew of this restriction until after we sold our business. We never would have sold our business so prematurely.”
The property sat in escrow for two years. In 2023, the deal fell through so the Milums applied for their demo permit.
That's when the City of Phoenix denied their permit and wanted to deem the building as historic. After years of back and forth, the city council finally sided with the Milums.
Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira with District 7 moved to deny the planning commission’s recommendation. There was a motion and it was approved by the city.
The Milums will now apply for another demo permit. They say, “We're glad this is finally behind us and that the city of Phoenix finally saw reason and did the right thing. This property represents our retirement nest egg and we finally feel like we can begin our retirement.”
