Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Demolition is underway at the old Barnstormer entertainment complex in Green Oak Township – and by the end of today, the main building is expected to be reduced to rubble.

The Township Board voted unanimously in June to award a bid for demolition of the facility on commercial property at 9411 M-36 near US-23, which was shut down in 2012 following years of code violations. It was officially declared a “dangerous building” at that time and has sat vacant ever since.

A lengthy lawsuit between the township and owner Rob Cortis was eventually settled in 2018. However, no action was taken to improve the site or address multiple safety and code violations to bring the building into compliance.

The original date slated for demolition was August 21st but there were several delays with DTE and Consumers Energy and other agencies giving the final go-ahead. Demolition work officially started on Monday.

Cortis expressed a desire over the years to make improvements and re-open the facility for banquets, special events, and weddings with various developers and partners but nothing ever came to fruition.

Supervisor Mark St. Charles told WHMI an opinion and order was received from the Court of Appeals 11 ½ years ago against Cortis stating the building was dangerous and needed to come down. That being said, St. Charles said they took the position over the years that if Cortis boarded up and secured the building from the weather they wouldn’t take any action to take it down – although they could have. He stressed Cortis has had 11 ½ years that at any time he or his partner could have brought in a set of plans that demonstrated compliance with codes and he could have moved forward but that never happened. St. Charles said they kept getting all kinds of excuses - with the biggest being COVID. He noted there were a lot of things that couldn’t be done during COVID but there was no reason why a good architect could not have developed a set of plans that demonstrated compliance with codes.

As for the building, elements and animals were getting inside, and due to rain and snow, the structure had deteriorated. St. Charles said they still let it go all these years and it wasn’t until this past late-winter and early-spring they were made aware by the Police Department that kids were getting inside the building and that it was not secure. He further noted there’s a lot of mold inside from water coming in and a lot of evidence of vandalism – but not theft – which points to young people getting in – and the township decided to move forward with the demolition.

While he understands Cortis wanting to revive the Barnstormer building, St. Charles again said he had 11 ½ years to do it – adding even the judge noted the time Cortis had to come back for a ruling but didn’t. He also could have appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court but did not.

St. Charles said there were also various incidents over the last several years regarding boarding up the building, locking it up, and making it secure. He clarified that it is not a “win-win” for the township and “it’s really kind of a sad day”.

St. Charles said his true belief is that government shouldn’t be doing this – and that’s why they’ve kind of given him so much time and so much leeway so it wouldn’t come to this. He said if Cortis had taken his due diligence to secure that building and brought in a good set of plans, they “wouldn’t be here today and it’s a shame that it’s come to this point”.


Cortis also spoke with WHMI to say it’s been difficult and challenging after 31 years of operating and it’s just time to move on. He said the property is listed for sale and hopefully someone will buy it, put something in, and have a great future on beautiful landmark piece of history.

A sale of items had been taking place and ended last weekend. Cortis said Barnstormer was a part of many people’s lives and a lot came in including past customers from banquets, weddings, and events. He said others came back to reminisce or wanted something from the facility for a keepsake or memory – noting it’s also historical at over 100 years old.

Cortis said the tent, pavilion, stone waterfall, gazebo, tiki bar, and special events tent have already been torn down but today, Wednesday, is the “big day” as the main building will be coming down and he encouraged people to come out for the event.

As for why the building wasn’t brought up to code; Cortis said after 31 years of operating and passing inspections the way the township wanted, a new administration came in and said old codes didn’t fly. He also cited poor communication with the township. Cortis said he tried to raise over $1 (m) million for upgrades – with one big item being a water and sprinkler system. He said he didn’t have a “million dollars lying around”, banks weren’t lending and then COVID hit. Cortis said he also had two buyers lined up but by then it was too late, adding he was not informed of everything and was out of town during meetings regarding the demolition but some people spoke on his behalf to try and save the Barnstormer.

Cortis said it was just one thing after another and even he though would have loved to re-open, he didn’t have the money personally and had to bring in investors and partners and by then, it was too late with the township. He added the building is a unique facility that would be very difficult or impossible to duplicate again and very costly.

Cortis said “it’s time to move on to a new chapter in life” and he hopes someone will make use of the corner area, which is a great high-traffic location right off M-36, near US-23.

The property is listed with Thomas Duke & Associates as 5.3 acres of vacant land. Cortis said he’ll also be selling some memorabilia and pieces of equipment online on Facebook Marketplace.