VBT DDA approves purchase prices for two Belleville Road properties

After a closed-door session on Feb. 28, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority approved a counter offer to buy two small parcels just north of their Placemaking project at 10101 and 10151 Belleville Road.
If the agreement comes to fruition, they will pay $132,500 each for the two 35’ wide parcels, as long as they are unoccupied and have no leases and both closings are at the same time.
Before the vote, the DDA passed a motion to allow DDA vice chairman and Realtor Carol Bird to abstain from the vote.
DDA Executive Director Susan Ireland said the extra property would allow for additional parking and a connection to ALDI’s to the north.
The Placemaking project is to develop a destination point for residents and visitors.
Ireland said they may ask ALDI if they can use some of its parking lot in the future if they have a big event at their place, the former Albert Harris home.
At its Jan. 24 meeting, the DDA was told a developer, who wanted to buy those two parcels, said he would put up a store of some kind and would like to share the DDA’s parking and have a shared driveway off Belleville Road.
Ireland said the DDA had tried to buy the two parcels and went as high as $25,000 each and the owners never called back. She said they wanted $400,000 total for the two parcels.
In January, DDA board members directed Ireland to tell the developer that they are interested in sharing a drive, while also making another offer on the property.
Ireland said the $132,500 figure was the owners’ counter-offer.
In other business, the DDA:
• Honored DDA secretary Sophia Zoller who was retiring, after having been with the DDA since it started. DDA chairman Craig Atchinson presented her with a framed certificate and read off all her many accomplishments;
• Heard Ireland report the Belleville Road rights-of-way acquisition for sidewalks is beginning to wind down. The DDA has secured 11 rights of way, noted three were already obtained, is waiting for four mortgage releases in order to complete the sales, waiting for two property owners to answer or propose a counter offer, one has an existing easement for a sidewalk, and 11 property owners do not wish to discuss right-of-way acquisition. Ireland said it is hoped the acquisitions acquired would improve the DDA’s ability to ensure pedestrian and/or non-motorized accessibility to the downtown area of the community in the future. Since neither the DDA nor the township is an Act 51 recipient with a current documented project, it has added some difficulty to the process;
• Approved a change order to the Commonwealth Associates’ contract for Belleville Road right-of-way acquisition. Ireland said $21,000 more is needed to complete the remainder of the work that is left;
• Heard Ireland report on the pedestrian overpass on Belleville Road. The engineer for the pedestrian bridge confirmed that he believed MDOT could accommodate most design concepts. He requires signage dimensions and wording / letter clarification. MDOT will require that a two-foot-high concrete parapet with a fence on top. Also, the bridge will require two columns in the center on either side of the walkway;
• Heard Ireland report on an inspection of the Harmony Lane subdivision fence. She said there is one spot where a resident’s tree has fallen on the fence and a resident on Lilac Lane and backs up to the fence has been keeping an eye on it for any issues. DPW will do maintenance work along the three-year-old fence once the weather breaks;
• Approved again being a sponsor of the Michigan Downtown Association with a payment of $2,000, as recommended by Ireland; and
• Heard Assistant DDA Director Lisa Lothringer report on E-Blasts, work with the Public Safety Department to find a new place for its Public Safety Day since construction staging will be at the current site, worked a coordinating a ground-breaking ceremony for Menard and Town Place Suites, and announced Helen Foster has agreed to join the sculpture selection committee for this year’s new sculptures.
Absent and excused from the meeting were Directors Baskin, Bechtel, Blank, and Brown.