Cameras ready? Developer unveils proposal for condos, public access with river view for MOC

Another multi-million-dollar residential project in downtown could one day fill out the bones of Port Huron’s decades-old Municipal Office Center under a plan developer Larry Jones unveiled Monday.

City Council members heard the pitch during their regular meeting with renderings and rough outlines that propose about 50 condos, a rooftop bar and restaurant, and access of views for visitors over the St. Clair River.

The latter piece, particularly, was something Jones emphasized — that he hoped to retain the public piece of a property erected by a public entity in a massive remodel he estimated would cost $11 million to $12 million.

“That area right over there is the most easterly point of the state of Michigan, so I want to capitalize on putting in a park area, an area for artwork, an area for families to come,” Jones told the Times Herald Monday afternoon.

“… We want tourists and our public to not only be able to come there but be able to go up an elevator and be able to enjoy — you know, I don’t know I should say — a miniature Sears Tower. People, our public are going to be able to walk around that building and take pictures of Canada, take pictures of the Blue Water Bridge, take pictures of our downtown Port Huron and not spend a dime.”

However, before any of that can happen, residents will have their say.

What will voters be asked to approve next spring?

Selling, leasing, developing or disposing of any waterfront property requires approval from a majority of voters under the city charter.

On Monday, council members unanimously authorized city administration to draft ballot language for a measure to appear before voters next May.

It wasn’t yet clear what that language would say.

City attorney Gary Fletcher said it would include a minimum sale price, as well as “general parameters of the deal in the language.” City Manager James Freed said that it would likely include information about incentives used to help jumpstart the project — on top of what Fletcher called “a huge private investment.”

Freed added during Monday's meeting that the ballot would not specify the developer used in the project.

When the city first entered an agreement to list the 112-829-square-foot MOC with Kramer Commercial Realty a year ago, the listed price was $5 million.

“We’ll draft the ballot language in the next couple weeks,” Freed said during an interview on Monday morning.

What would the MOC look like if redeveloped?

Early mockups from Infuz Architects show the MOC and its surrounding structures with slightly less exterior siding and additional windows in the upper story that extends over the first four floors.

The glassy appearance overall is retained, taking advantage of the building’s 360-degree view of downtown, the water, and Kiefer Park, which will remain a city park outside the deal.

Renderings also show the restaurant or bar and a roof deck with other balcony access around the top. Other floors show several units ranging in size from 800 or 900 square feet to well over 1,000 square feet.

Outside the rooftop venue, Jones said he doesn’t want the building to include much commercial space, including the rounded, main-level meeting room attached to the MOC’s south side and the basement area housing the police department.

“When I see that auditorium, I see a big swimming pool. But if we can’t do a swimming pool, I’ve also done sketches of cutting windows in it and putting a couple unique condos in there,” Jones said. “The entryway will still be the same, the first-floor bathroom will still be the same. Now, the lower level where the police department is (could have) a walkout to the backside. So, we still want to put five units on that lower level.”

Overall, he said he hopes the rooftop area would be “something where people could have appetizers and get drinks and sit up there and just enjoy the view.”

Jones is behind several existing loft projects in downtown Port Huron, including the ongoing Wrigley Center development taking shape at Michigan Street and Grand River Avenue.

He’s attached in ownership to several buildings on Main Street, helping to usher in several new restaurants, and has previously owned others such as Sperry’s prior to its current owner/redeveloper several years ago.

Now, Jones said he hopes the MOC is the next piece.

Much of the property will have to be gutted, he said, citing its decades of wear from municipal use since it was built in 1978.

“This is going to help bring professionals from the hospital, from higher-paying businesses that could come to town because they see something like that, and they’re going to want to come to Port Huron,” Jones said of bringing more residential space with condos. “We want to sell them. … (But) we are going to do options. It’s either going to be for rent, for rent to own, or to buy. End results, we want to sell every one of them to people that want to buy them.”

City council members expressed unanimous support for the project, saying it would be a quality project to attract families and investors to the city, improving quality of life for residents.

"This is not for money," council member Anita Ashford said. "This is your true passion, to make our community the best it could be."

Freed pointed out the city would be off the hook for capital projects that need to be done on the building − including improvements to the parking deck, HVAC system and elevators, among others things − which would save taxpayers money. It only makes sense for the developer to complete these improvements, as the project would include a full gutting of the building anyway, Jones said.

The project would also generate tax revenue once complete.

"We're going to tax the heck out of this thing once it's done," Freed said. "Larry is going to build this thing, or perhaps, and we're going to tax it, increasing long-term revenue streams for the citizens of Port Huron."

Council member Jeff Pemberton also commended Jones for setting aside space in the building for the public to enjoy.

"There was no obligation for you in looking at buying the building, a property for housing and say I want to have a public access area as part of that building," Pemberton said. "But you did because your heart's in that and so your heart in this whole thing is beautiful."

When asked by Ashford, Jones said he was unsure of what the price would be for the condos, and they would probably be rented. He also said the project would most likely ask for tax incentives.

What about replacing city offices with interest from developers?

Previously, city officials have seen a lot of interest from developers in the MOC — and before it was formally listed for sale.

Amid the current state of the housing market, Freed said that’s only gone up. A lot of them kicked the tires, he said, “but no one’s pulled the trigger.

When asked about Jones, the city manager said, “Very tongue-in-cheek, we’ve joked about the MOC for two or three years. But we took him and his business partners on a deep tour of the facility about a month and a half ago.”

And without the interest, Freed added, “It’s a pretty obsolete building. It doesn’t have fire suppression. There’s not a market for this much office space. It would be difficult to lease this out.”

As the city takes steps to sell its city hall, officials will also have to look for a new home.

Freed said there “are several options out there” to repurpose an existing building, echoing a pledge from Mayor Pauline Repp earlier this month not to build a new structure.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith. Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Developer unveils proposal for condos, public access with river view for MOC