Historic downtown Sault building to become new market rate apartments

Brendan Wiesner, The Sault News
·2 min read
One painting in the last series of murals created by the DDA
One painting in the last series of murals created by the DDA

SAULT STE. MARIE — The building on 300 Court St. was once a county annex building, but

for the past several years, the building has stood empty because of large amounts of water damage.

The Community Housing Network wants to change that by renovating the historic building into 11 new apartments, with the help from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The purpose of this project is to introduce more market rate housing in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, which is needed, according to a targeted market study run by the Community Housing Network.

The apartments will add new residents to the downtown district, which helps support existing small businesses, while also providing those new residents access to walkable amenities such as a pharmacy, grocery store, retail, entertainment.

In total there is $3.2 million in funding for this project

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The project is receiving support from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program, a program run by the Michigan Strategic Fund Board.

The project had to meet several requirements to qualify for the MCRP program including local support.

The Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Development Authority supported the project with $7,000 in funding as part of a project that creates large mural pieces downtown. The project is also receiving $1.3 million from a performance-based grant through the Michigan Community Revitalization Program.

More: Downtown Sault's newest apartment building is coming with a one of a kind mural

"One of the things that they require is some type of city financial involvement to qualify for those funds that $7,000 piece that the DDA approved for the mural allows us to get the $3.2 million."

There have been no final decisions on the content of the mural or who will be hired to create it.

Rental rates are projected at $850-$1,000 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,200- $1,350 for a two bedroom unit, rates align with between 70% and 80% of the area median income for Chippewa County.

Renovations on the building begin in early July and will last about a year. Residents are expected to be living in this building by spring 2023.

"There's work to be done in almost that entire building, but It's mostly interior so we can work in the cold weather months."

Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Historic downtown Sault building to become new apartments