Nicole Curtis gets 6 months to fix up her run-down Minneapolis home
TV star Nicole Curtis and the City of Minneapolis reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit over a run-down home in north Minneapolis.
The deal struck between the city and Curtis, which was approved by the city council on Friday, will give the Rehab Addict host and her construction company Detroit Renovations LLC just under six months to complete the redevelopment of the property at 1522 Hillside Avenue North.
At least $150,000 must be spent in construction costs on the building, with the work having to be completed by Oct. 15 this year. If Curtis and the construction company don't comply with this, the house will have to be forfeited back to the city.
The city filed a suit against the rehabber in January, accusing her of breaking the contract she signed when buying the house from the city for $2 back in 2012.
Under the contract terms signed in November 2013, Curtis – a protector of historic buildings who rehabs them on her HGTV show– had 12 months to redevelop the property and bring it back into use as a single-family home. The city said she failed to do so.
Curtis has previously been critical of the city, accusing it of blocking her attempts to rehabilitate the building by demanding a $200,000 deposit in exchange for a building permit, a claim the city denied.
The city meanwhile accused Curtis of not paying real estate taxes or maintaining insurance on the property, claims she denied.
Some members of the neighborhood have complained that the property is still undeveloped and consider it a security hazard, though Curtis has said she has maintained the property via security fencing and lawn care, as well as priming the exterior of the house.
The settlement now just needs to be signed off by Mayor Betsy Hodges.
