HILLSDALE, MI (WTVB) – Downtown redevelopment projects in Hillsdale and Albion are getting the go-ahead, thanks to Revitalization and Placemaking program grants through the state.
The rehabilitation of vacant buildings in in those two cities will create commercial space and 11 total housing units. Together, the projects will generate a total capital investment of over $4.27 million in their downtown areas.
The RAP program provides access to gap financing for place-based infrastructure development and real estate rehabilitation and development.
In downtown Albion, husband and wife developer team Bill and Karen Dobbins will transform a vacant, functionally obsolete building into a three-story, mixed-use building. The Hayes Block project will create nine new residential units, including an ADA-accessible unit on the main floor, and two new retail spaces. The total anticipated capital investment for the project is $3,614,068.
The project is supported by a $1,325,000 RAP grant, as well as $310,283 in State Brownfield tax increment financing (TIF) to address the brownfield conditions on the property. The project will transform a long-vacant building in Albion’s Superior Street Commercial Historic District and create much-needed housing and modern commercial space. The Dobbins family has redeveloped several similar properties within Albion and leveraged support from the MEDC, including Community Development Block Grant funding for the Erie Street Apartments and The Peabody Building and a Michigan Community Revitalization Program grant and state brownfield TIF for the Brick Street Lofts project.
In downtown Hillsdale, development team GSG Generations LLC will revitalize a functionally obsolete and underutilized building, known as the Engine House, to create a mixed-use building with two residential units and a retail space on the ground floor. The two residential apartments will consist of a one-bedroom, 714-square-foot apartment and a two-bedroom unit totaling approximately 1,105 square feet, while the ground floor will provide 1,409 square feet of white-boxed retail space.
Supported by a $225,000 RAP grant, the Engine House project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $660,355. This project supports the City of Hillsdale’s goals to preserve an existing structure while increasing residential density and walkability in the downtown area.
GSG Generations LLC is a family-owned development company with prior experience in rehabilitation and development projects in Hillsdale as well as surrounding areas, adding vibrancy to the local community.
“I’m very glad to see the state investing in my district,” said State Representative Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy). “Many buildings in downtown Hillsdale have sat vacant and neglected for years or even decades, and the resulting poor conditions can make it difficult to get projects off the ground. This grant will help to minimize that burden, continuing Hillsdale’s status as a great place to live, work, and do business.”
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