Special land use, site plan for proposed apartments approved

Dan Cherry
·3 min read

STURGIS - A special land use request and site plan review for a proposed apartment development in Sturgis were approved Tuesday by the city's planning commission.

Spire Development is proposing to develop St. Joseph Street Lofts, a high-density apartment complex at 303 St. Joseph St., the former Paramount Furniture Co. site. The property, vacant since 1996, is owned by the city's economic development corporation.

The Sturgis Planning Commission on Tuesday approved two requests from a developer to transform a vacant lot in Sturgis into a 50-unit apartment complex. The developer, Spire, is also seeking tax credits from the state to aid in construction.
The Sturgis Planning Commission on Tuesday approved two requests from a developer to transform a vacant lot in Sturgis into a 50-unit apartment complex. The developer, Spire, is also seeking tax credits from the state to aid in construction.

Spire is proposing to construct a three-story building with 50 apartments: 12 one-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom units and 14 three-bedroom units. Spire Development will be seeking funding through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for the project. Due to the high cost of housing complex construction, projects are contingent of securing state funding, a highly competitive process.

The developer previously applied and was approved for a special land use in 2020. At that time, the property went through the rezoning process and was rezoned to allow for high-density apartments, but the project stalled. Tuesday's approval will enable Spire to continue with the funding process. The deadline for Spire's application submision to MSHDA is Dec. 1. MSHDA will award the selected projects in April 2024.

Spire representative Sean McMickle said the developer has led 30 projects across the country, with the closest construction being in Coldwater. That complex, The Lofts at Milnes Plaza, was completed three years ago and was "fully leased," McMickle said. He said the developments are "high quality, yet affordable housing," with "lots of working families and single mothers."

Current rates for housing similar to the proposed Lofts development, based on income qualifications, is $235 to $900 for one bedroom, $270 to $1,000 for two bedrooms and $300 to $1,125 for three-bedroom units.

If funding is approved in April, McMickle said, Spire is looking to close on the property in late summer 2024. With an approximate 14-month construction process, completion would be set for late fall or early winter 2025.

City officials said that Spire understands there are contaminants on the site that must be remediated, and existing foundations that will need to be removed before the project could move forward.

Spire reported it has previous experience removing contaminants, and will work with state organizations to do the necessary work should the project proceed. Spire has shared previous reports on the Sturgis property with an environmental reviewer at MSHDA, who "confirmed the contaminants are fairly common and should not disqualify the site from tax credit consideration."

The developers also received approval on a deferment on the number of parking spaces for the project, based on past experience with other sites. The site plan as drafted has 107 parking spaces, meeting current zoning ordinance requirements. Requirements for multi-family residential facilities are two spaces for each living unit having two or fewer bedrooms, and 2 1/2 spaces for each unit having three or more bedrooms. Spire asked to defer 32 parking spaces, bringing the total to 75, or 1 1/2 spaces per residential unit.

City staff reported the number of spaces falls in range with other apartment complexes in Sturgis. According to staff findings, there are 0.88 for each unit at Fawn River Apartments, 1.32 at Village Manor, 1.98 at Stoughton Estates, and 2.05 at Deer Creek.

The Paramount property is also in an area targeted in the Sturgis Community Nonmotorized Trailway Master Plan. Included in the plan is an off-road path that would travel within the east/west railroad right of way and then south to Chicago Road downtown.

City staff have had discussions with railroad ownership that would help make the off-road path possible.

Should the project move forward after financial awards are announced in April, the apartment property will include a community room, a patio common space, playground, onsite management and maintenance, bicycle storage and electric vehicle charging stations.

Chairman John Mikulenas and planning commissioner RIck Mahler were absent from Tuesday's meeting. Gabe Alvez presided over the meeting as acting chair in the absence of Mikulenas.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Special land use, site plan for proposed Sturgis apartments approved