They wanted to sell their land. The city had other ideas. [Video]

PHOENIX — They just wanted to retire.

Craig and Marilyn Milum shuttered their commercial laundry business five years ago and sold the company Craig’s father started in the 1950s.

But the couple, now in their 70s, held on to the 2.4 acres of land near Seventh Avenue and Van Buren Street.

Their piece of downtown is worth a lot of money — about $10 million. A developer could put a 600-foot skyscraper on it or build hundreds of new apartments; the land is zoned for all that.  

However, groups like Preserve Phoenix, which protects historic properties around the city, argue that the 45,000-square-foot laundry facility that remains at 333 N. 7th Ave. is worth even more. In their opinion, its vaulted, wooden Lamella roof is priceless.  

The Milums don’t see anything worth preserving at Milum’s Textile Services, formerly known as Phoenix …