GROSSE POINTE FARMS — The old Tennis House near Brownell Middle School at 360 Moselle Place, slated to be repurposed as condominiums, will be razed after all.

According to a press release, the developer, ANK Enterprises, discovered unforeseen structural issues that rendered the building unsafe for new construction.

Originally built by the Ford family in 1936, the Tennis House was one of the only indoor tennis courts in the area. It was designed by New York architect Gavin Hadden, who specialized in sports stadiums; he also designed Philadelphia Stadium, Brown University Stadium, Northwestern University Stadium and Cornell University Stadium.

The Fords used it as a private tennis club for years with a cap of approximately 100 members.

When Matt Kornmeier, along with his brother, Steve, and father, Gene, bought it in 2013, the idea was to continue to run it as a tennis club; however, they found it too expensive to keep up with maintenance. That’s when they started looking at new uses and came up with the idea for the Centre Court Condominium Association.

Four standalone condominiums have been completed and 12 more were to be built inside the Tennis House.

However, due to the structural issues, Matt Kornmeier said the new plan is to demolish the old structure and build two free-standing condominium homes in its place.

“Of course we are disappointed we couldn’t make our original repurposing vision into a reality, but we are looking forward to adding two more luxury condominium homes on the site to complement the four that were recently completed,” Kornmeier said. “Despite the setback, we believe Centre Court will still be one of the most unique and premier condominium developments in the Grosse Pointes.”

First, the developers have to go back in front of city council and get approval for the change in plans.

City Manager Shane Reeside said the news is unfortunate.

“A determination was made by the architect and a structural engineer that the building could not be saved,” Reeside said, “which is unfortunate from the perspective of the attempt to create an adaptive reuse of a historic structure in the community.”

Reeside said the developers currently are going through the process of applying for a demolition permit.

The developer expects demolition to start in the next 60 to 90 days. Kornmeier said he hopes to be in front of council in June to request approval for the changes. A timeline for the construction of the new condominiums has not yet been set.