Muskegon’s Midtown Center begins to take shape
Posted By: mlive on August 28, 2024. For more information, please click here to read the source article.
A proposed redevelopment of the old Catholic Charities building in Muskegon is underway.
West Urban Properties is busy knocking down walls inside the old building at 1095 Third St. to prepare it for redevelopment as Midtown Center, which will include a mix of market rate and low-income apartments, as well as some yet-to-be-determined commercial use.
Dave Dusendang, owner of West Urban Properties, said the majority of the units will be one-bedroom, but the plan is contingent on final renderings.
“We don’t have everything written in stone yet,” he said.
The tentative plan calls for 30-35 residential units on the first and second stories. The developers are also speculating on adding a retail component, which is contingent on final renderings.
Demolition is nearly complete on the first two floors, and crews will soon start on the basement level.
Dusendang added he wants to salvage the original brick underneath the building’s stucco exterior in order to bring back the original look of the building.
“Our goal was to bring it back as close to the original as we can,” he said.
The former Catholic Charities service building was built in the early 1920s as a furniture warehouse and showroom.
The city took ownership of the property through a trade fora lot on Seventh Street with Catholic Charities and has tried for years to nail down a developer who will deliver more housing to Muskegon.
Dusendang received an endorsement from the city commission for his proposal in March 2023, after the commission’s previously chosen developer Suburban Property abandoned the project due to “interest rate pressure.”
Dusendang at the time said he was “trying to hit inclusivity all across the board” with his proposal. Twenty percent of the residential units will be reserved for “section 8″ vouchers provided to low-income renters.
The project since then has gained support from Muskegon-based Wheelfish Group, a development firm headed by Brad and Kathleen Playford, who have a track record of buying and redeveloping historic buildings.
Wheelfish Group, meanwhile, is converting the Hackley Administration Building, just a block over from the 1095 site, into a 40-room luxury hotel that will pay homage to the building’s history.
The Muskegon City Commission earlier in August approved a commercial rehabilitation district for both projects, which will freeze the taxable value of the properties for 10 years once construction is completed.
Frank Peterson, vice president of operations Wheelfish Group, said the shape of the Catholic Charities building presents a unique challenge for redevelopment.
“These older buildings typically are good for converting to residential because of the way they’re built. They’re long and narrow, normally,” he said. “But this one’s not, it’s almost a perfect square.”
Peterson said it’s going to take a “new way to look at these buildings” to rebuild it in an efficient way and fit all the planned housing units.
The developers also plan to add a Phase Two to the project, which involves construction of a new two-story building along Houston Street that would be connected to the existing building and add another 25-30 units.
Construction on Phases One and Two could happen simultaneously or back-to-back depending on final approvals from the city commission. Dusendang said he hopes to have units ready by summer 2025.
The overall cost of Phase One and Two is estimated to be $11 million to $11.5 million.
A planned third phase of the project involves a corner lot separated from the 1095 property by an alley and would add a smaller apartment building with six to eight units.
The developers haven’t yet priced out the cost of Phase three.
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