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Eastern Michigan University in legal dispute with company that manages its on-campus parking

Halle Library on the Eastern Michigan University campus.
Josh Hakala
/
89.1 WEMU
Halle Library on the Eastern Michigan University campus.

Eastern Michigan University and the company that runs its parking are in the midst of a legal dispute.

When Provident Resources Group took control of EMU’s on-campus parking in 2018, repairs needed to be made to a four-story parking garage in the center of campus. The university issued Provident a notice of default for the closing of the parking structure and failing to re-open it.

Provident filed a lawsuit accusing EMU of underestimating the cost of the repairs. It also cited loss of revenue when the school cut parking rates for faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, Provident is asking for about $11 million in damages.

Steve Hicks is the CEO of Provident Resources Group.

“We certainly are hopefully that through the litigation that has been initiated that we’ll reach an agreement with the university in the not-to-distant future.”

Eastern Michigan spokesperson Walter Kraft calls the lawsuit entirely “without merit”.

After EMU issued the notice of default in March, Kraft provided a statement.

“We’re disappointed that our efforts to work with Provident EMU to resolve this matter have not been met with a positive response, leading us to issue the Notice of Default,” Kraft said. “We very much hope that Provident will live up to its obligations, perform any necessary maintenance work, and reopen our parking garage soon.”

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Josh Hakala is the general assignment reporter for the WEMU news department.
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