Former HGTV host Nicole Curtis is clapping back more than a week after the City of Detroit filed a lawsuit against her and her company, Detroit Renovations LLC, alleging they failed to renovate a blighted house.
On Sunday, Aug. 2, Curtis shared a lengthy — and, at times, grammatically challenged — Facebook post capturing the essence of her work, while pointing out that crews would be out by 7 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, to "save historic homes" in the city. Her statement comes after a nuisance abatement lawsuit was filed July 22 in Wayne County Circuit Court alleging that a home her company owns at 451 E. Grand Blvd. in Detroit has remained a public nuisance, despite a 2021 court order requiring renovations.
Detroit Renovations obtained ownership
of the property in 2021 after litigation with the Detroit Land Bank Authority, according to the lawsuit. In granting ownership to Curtis' company, Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny ruled that the house was a nuisance and danger to the community and ordered it to be renovated.
Inspectors found issues ranging from missing permits and compliance certifications, to failure to register the building as vacant, trash and overgrown vegetation, and deteriorating structural features such as the roof, gutters, exterior walls, windows, fences, porches and stairways. Detroit's Buildings Safety Engineering and Environmental Department also issued correction orders in September 2022, November 2023 and April 2026 after finding code violations. The owners faced 25 violation tickets after failing to comply.
"I got 2 full crews starting at 7 am tomorrow (8/3) in Detroit. Not out to make a buck, not out to make a name for myself, not out to rob and pillage (as some say about me), just out to save historic homes from being demolished and/or ruined by flippers," Curtis said in her statement.
The city claims the owner owes $4,200 in blight-related fines and $1,331 in inspection and registration fees, and asked a judge to declare the property a public nuisance, order repairs and payments, and place the property under the control of a court-appointed receiver if the owners fail to fix the violations.
Curtis began by sharing that she saves "old houses" as a passion, on top of being a mother "wearing the same darn outfit you’ve seen me in for 20 years and just doing my best to ensure that my legacy is being great mom that loved rather than” that chick who had that show” (sic) when I die."
She added that she earned the money to buy her first house by cleaning homes in Detroit.
"I didn’t use bank loans, no one would finance me. I saved it all, I sold garbage finds on Craigslist. I wasn’t an 'influencer' (there was no social media)," Curtis said, adding that she took a small opportunity to build "Rehab Addict: Detroit" at 35 years old.
"Over the years, my stamina and determination built a solid foundation, a hit show, global recognition and enough money to breathe and then some, but it, also, built me a list of enemies. I’ve been sued, blackmailed, extorted, betrayed, you name it and not just by the usual suspects, but by 'friends' and loved ones that I trusted with my soul. It’s a grief that is hard to explain if you haven’t gone through it, but, also, one that does the opposite of what your enemies intentions were …. it builds you right back up," Curtis said in her statement.
Curtis continued by thanking those who stood by her.
"So, I’m just continuing being me unapologetically Nicole Curtis — the mom that prefers under the radar, hiding in plain sight, working on an old house," she added.
Curtis also took her thoughts to social media nearly a week prior on Tuesday, July 28, with a photo of her in Greece, stating that she thought she would "feel the urge to be back at work," but she felt otherwise.
"You may have ran across more headlines about me — allegedly the Detroit Land Bank is suing me, again. (I went 3 years in litigation before and was the victor) The only comment I have is the media is running a fabulous photo of me 9 proud months pregnant with the story so it brings a feeling of happiness when I read things like 'EX HGTV STAR IN MORE TROUBLE'," Curtis said. "The truth is 'Nicole Curtis is enjoying her life and just checked Greece of her list' is the accurate headline."
Free Press reporter Nour Rahal contributed to this story.
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nicole Curtis claps back at Detroit officials in blight case
