The Moroun family has sold a large former cold-storage building near Michigan Central Station to another Detroit property owner known for sitting on properties.

The 437,000-square-foot building at 1448 Wabash St. in Corktown sold to Elizabeth Street Lofts Inc., an entity registered to Detroit real estate investor Dennis Kefallinos, according to public records. That entity lists its address as 1600 Clay St., the Russell Industrial Center that Kefallinos owns. Chris Mihailovich, a Kefallinos executive, confirmed the purchase but declined to elaborate on plans for the building on Monday evening.

"As of today (the) plan is to develop the building, subject to change LOL," Mihailovich said in a text message to Crain's.

When asked to elaborate, he said: "I cannot talk for Dennis, I don't know what's in his mind, all I know is we are going with developing (the) building! Subject to change. Meaning it could be residential. Or warehouse. ... Or office space. The options are many."

The seller was Northern Border In Transit LLC, which is registered at 12225 Stephens Road in Warren, the headquarters for the Moroun family's business empire. Michael Samhat, president of the Moroun's Crown Enterprises, confirmed the building had sold but wouldn't disclose the buyer.

Kefallinos, who has been investing in Detroit real estate for decades, has long been accused of sitting on properties and doing little to improve them, and renting substandard apartments as has been alleged in a class-action lawsuit. He has often outlined grand visions for the properties he purchases but those plans often have not come to fruition.

A purchase price for 1448 Wabash St. is not known; Mihailovich declined to disclose it. The sale in the Sept. 28 warranty deed listed other parcels included in the deal as 1479 Vermont, 2011 Bagley, 2037 Bagley, 1451 Vermont and 1434 Wabash. According to CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, the building sits on 3 acres and was built in 1926.

The Morouns have taken sharp criticism for their stewardship over the Detroit train depot, which the family sold in May to Ford Motor Co. in a historic deal for $90 million. The Dearborn-based automaker plans to anchor a $740 million Corktown campus with the depot, which opened in 1914 and has long been an emblem of the city's decades-long decline. The city has approved $104 million in tax incentives for the redevelopment and development plan.

Ford's move has fueled massive real estate interest in the surrounding neighborhood.

Kefallinos last year put 30 properties up for sale; some including Harvard Square Centre on Broadway Street and Shapero Hall in Lafayette Park have sold since then to other developers. He also bought a 630-acre former Boy Scouts camp earlier this year.

Elizabeth Street Lofts accrued at least $56,000 in blight violations on Shapero Hall, the former Wayne State University pharmacy school building that is slated for demolition, since 2005, according to city property records. The tickets have been paid.