Century-old Granby St. business closing

Don Hornstein, owner of Littman’s Pawn Shop in throwing in the towel.

Signs at his 151 Granby St. shop announce his going out of business sale.

Littman’s sold a dizzying array of items: musical instruments, comic books, computers, cameras, jewelry and watches.And everything is for sale.

Hornstein, grandson of the original owner who started the business in 1892, said he’s at the end of the line.

“The building next door has tied me up,” Hornstein said.

Next to his building is 161 Granby St., commonly referred to as the leaning building. It has been cited for numerous code violations for almost nine years. 

One-Sixty-One Granby LLC, whose principal is Bobby Wright, president of The Wright Companies, bought the building, originally known as The Savoy, in 2004, for $450,000, according to city records.

Savoy Apartments LLC, an affiliate of South Carolina-based U.S. Development Co., bought 161 Granby for $1.6 million in April, days before Wright had been ordered by the city to demolish it or renovate it.

A scaffold surrounds 161 Granby St. for safety reasons. The city extended the scaffold a few months ago in front of Famous Uncle Al’s.

The city “invested $100,000 in studies and scaffolding,” Hornstein said. “The new owners have had the building for five months and haven’t tuned on the electricity.”

U.S. Development arrived in Norfolk in 2009, promising to buy 161 Granby St. and the former Union Mission complex on Brooke Avenue.

But due to the collapse of the real estate market and the financial meltdown on Wall Street, U.S. Development was hard pressed to find the financing to buy 161 or the former Union Mission.

U.S. Development, moreover, was stalled by U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, the guarantor of the loan.

Plans were submitted and re-submitted based on HUD’s requirements.

The Savoy, structurally unsound, its windows boarded with plywood, has been a thorn in Hornstein’s side.

“Over the past several years, I really planned my finances around the sale of 161,” Hornstein said. “I was looking to do something with the building during the boom.”

Bad timing for Hornstein, who has been trying to sell the building. And the derelict structure at 161 Granby St. was Hornstein’s albatross.

Hornstein said the city never did anything with 161 Granby, despite numerous code violations, until this year.

“It’s not like I haven’t brought it [the condition of 161 Granby] to the attention of City Council.”

With single-minded determination, Hornstein crusaded for the city to take action. He appeared at City Council meetings, he wrote letters and emails and he researched deeds. Yet the City, for whatever reason, never forced the issue until this year.

Here’s another twist.

Oddly, the assessed values at three of the properties on the block where Hornstein’s building is located increased in value between 2011 and 2013, including Wright’s building, according to city records. Four properties make up the block.

Yet the assessed value of Hornstein’s building dropped during this time period, from $1.34 million in 2011 to $859,300 in 2013.

Despite the code violations, the assessed value of 161 Granby St. increased, from $799,300 to $1.067 million in 2013.

The other property owners include Dominion Enterprises and Fairfax Associates LLC, city records show.

City records also show that no taxes were paid on 161 Granby St. until the fourth quarter of the 2012-2013 tax period. 

Taxes totaled $3,386.36. One-Sixty-One Granby also paid a penalty of $338.65 plus interest of $84.66.

Yet total taxes were paid for the 2013-2014 tax period, which amounted to $17,358.94. 

 Hornstein’s property is for sale; he said buyers are interested.