For one iconic building in Elk Rapids, a 2025 controversy has largely subsided. But for another it continues, as ownership transitions for both the town hall and the Elk Rapids Cinema resulted in fraught relations in the Antrim County village and township.

After a heated bidding war, the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall—HERTH for short—is now owned by the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall Association (HERTHA). (There is still a mortgage on the building, which led one member of the township board to predict that in a year it would be owned by the bank.)

Across town, the Elk Rapids Cinema is now in the hands of the Chalfonte Foundation. What is still to be determined is the tax-exempt status of the property, including the home behind the theater also owned by the foundation.

Read more about both historic buildings - and what could come next for them in 2026 - in this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker. The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy on newsstands at more than 650 locations in 13 counties across northern Michigan.