Superior couple sues ASU prof over shoddy buildings

SUPERIOR — The ongoing saga of a college professor’s burgeoning real estate empire has escalated into a lawsuit.

The 12-page complaint from Bill and Jenny Holmquist claims that their neighbor, Arizona State University business professor Glenn Wilt, is killing their own real estate dream by allowing his holdings in historic downtown Superior fall into disrepair.

Wilt has reportedly bought several historic properties in historic towns east of Maricopa County as investments because he sees Valley growth heading in that direction. The properties are in places such as Superior, Miami, Globe and Hayden, according to press reports.

The Holmquists argue that he has sat on them so long that they are now crumbling and impacting their own investment on Superior’s Main Street.

Their squabble has made it to Town Council meetings. But the recent lawsuit in Pinal County Superior Court turns up the volume.

The complaint states that in March 2007, the Holmquists bought a building on West Main Street with the hopes of fixing it up and renting it out to third parties. Wilt owned the Uptown Theater next door.

Over the next few months, the Holmquists had trouble patching up their own building because parts of Wilt’s buildings were falling down in their way. At one point, town officials ordered them to stop their work and told Wilt to fix the theater.

In June 2007, the Holmquists say they entered into a six-month lease for their property. They canceled it because of the “hazardous condition” of Wilt’s property, the complaint says.

Since then, it’s been a back-and-forth game between the Holmquists, Wilt and town officials, who have ordered Wilt to demolish the old theater. He promised to “shore it up,” the complaint states, and the building still stands.

The Holmquists are represented by Mesa lawyer Brent H. Bryson. He is seeking actual and punitive damages for the income the couple lost on their investment property.