The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
City proposes to sell parcels of Water Street
By Christine Laughren, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 1, 2008
The city of Ypsilanti is hoping to stimulate development of its Water Street property by possibly selling the land on a piece-by-piece basis.
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Parceling the property is one of several short-term strategies the city manager's office presented to members of City Council during a special work session last Thursday.
City Manager Ed Koryzno said he plans to have a resolution drafted by May 8 outlining the short-term strategies he thinks the city should adopt.
These short-term strategies include:
A phased construction approach with one or more developers.
Moving forward with property cleanup with a loan from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Aggressive marketing of the property.
Developing, adopting and implementing a new zoning district for approval by right.
Koryzno said a resolution adopted in 2007 set the tone for what community members wanted but it states the property can only be sold to one developer.
"It didn't include marketing the property on a parcel by parcel basis," Koryzno said. "This will be a new resolution amending the other."
Progress on the 38-acre property began in 1999 when the city was awarded $7 million in grants and loans from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Since that time two developers, Biltmore Properties, Inc. and Joseph Freed and Associates, have pulled out of negotiations with the city.
The city is now strapped with approximately $2 million in payments to be made starting in fiscal year 2009-2010.
There is no tax revenue is being generated from the property.
Ultimately, Koryzno said he is not abandoning the "one developer" option the city has had in the past. But he said the economy is not as it was when the plan was initially drawn out.
Koryzno said the city needs to keep its options open and allow for the possibility of smaller developers.
Phased approach
Koryzno proposed developing parcels along Michigan Avenue. He said it would be the best place to begin.
New development along the avenue, Koryzno said, could act as a gateway and encourage other developers to invest in the property.
According to Jeremy McCallion, a Brownfield Planner for Washtenaw County, the city has the opportunity to pursue up to $1 million in EPA loans from the Washtenaw County Brownfield Development Authority.
McCallion suggested the city would need about $642,000 to $742,000 to clean up the parcels along Michigan Avenue. He also emphasized, the federal funds expire August 31.
McCallion said the city should move quickly if it wants to take advantage of the loan option.
Water Street still has approximately $3.7 million worth of environmental action that needs to occur on the site. About one-third of the property has been cleaned up.
Marketing push
Along with the plan to phase development on a parcel-by-parcel basis, the city manager's office has also been working on increased marketing of the entire property.
Assistant City Manager April McGrath said she has been putting a lot of time and effort into preparing for the National Brownfields Conference, which will be held this year at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
She said the city plans to take full advantage of the close proximity of the conference — running next Monday through Wednesday — by offering tours of the site to developers.
McGrath said she also has been working on Water Street packets with information on the property and the Ypsilanti area.
The city has plans to remove the fencing surrounding the property as well as install a sign making it clear the property is available for development.
New zoning
Rezoning of the property also was proposed during last Thursday's work session.
The site is currently zoned for Planned Unit Development. City Planner Richard Murphy said with a PUD, the developer works with the city to negotiate what gets built on the site.
"The developer gets flexibility from the city and the city gets to ask questions," Murphy said. "But that requires the developer working with city staff and the zoning board...it's a longer process."
Murphy proposed that the city might want to change the zoning to approval by right.
Approval by right would entail the city setting its own requirements for the site. For example, it could dictate the shape, size and usage of each parcel on a case-by-case basis.
"A PUD is a very uncertain where as setting out the rules makes it easy for the developer to know what's expected," Murphy said.
Although, Murphy said an approval by right zoning would initially be more work for the city, it would streamline the process down the road.
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