Developer Ron Thomas of Rise Above Ventures speaks to the City Council on the progress of the renovation of the old city hall building at 3131 Biddle Ave. during the Oct. 6 council meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – The City Council was updated on the redevelopment of the old city hall Oct. 6 by Downtown Development Authority Director Joe Gruber and Developer Ron Thomas of Rise Above Ventures.
Gruber said the project, at 3131 Biddle Ave., has been “right-sized,” and will have two stories instead of four, and 12 apartments instead of the 30 in the original plan.
He said the building was a Federal’s Department Store before it was repurposed in 1967 into a city hall and used until 2013, when the city transitioned to its current location at 3200 Biddle Ave.
The current city hall was constructed in 1981 by the Wyandotte Savings Bank and later housed Chase Bank.
A developer approached Wyandotte in 2014 with a project for the old city hall, but it proved unfeasible.
In 2019 more proposals were solicited. In mid-2020, during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas approached the city with a proposal.
“This was a very prolonged, thoughtful, phased development process,” Gruber said. “It’s a very challenging site.”
Downtown Development Director Joe Gruber updates the City Council on the progress of the renovation of the old city hall building at 3131 Biddle Ave. during the Oct. 6 council meeting.
He said it is infill, new construction in a rather small, dense area in a community that would be considered by many to be a small market.
Gruber said Thomas is a local developer who was born and raised in Wyandotte who has a proven track record in the community, who was willing to deliver a high-density mixed-use development with retail and residential components in the middle of downtown on Biddle Avenue.
“I think this is a great thing for the community,” he said. “I do think it is a right-sized project and, unfortunately, it has taken us this long to come to that conclusion, but it is the conclusion that we have come to none-the-less.”
Thomas said the project funding was closed, the building permits were issued and reconstruction was ready to begin.
He said the building will be enclosed before winter and finished toward the end of next year.
Thomas said he accepts responsibility for the delays in getting to this point, but as of today they have a fully-funded, shovel-ready project in hand for the old city hall building.
“Together, with our current projects, this is about 250,000 square feet of residential or commercial space throughout the city of Wyandotte that we’ve converted from something blighted or non-conforming that is now occupied,” he said. “This represents about $37 million in investment, and about $34 million of that was private sources.”
Thomas said the projects have brought dozens of businesses to Wyandotte along with millions of dollars of revenue to the local economy.
He is also involved with the former McKinley School project, which he said is on schedule and is about half done.
Thomas said the old city hall redevelopment was delayed because the project bids came in higher than expected and more than the project could support, and when the project was redesigned to make it financially viable, he had to work with the bank, the state, the city, the design team and the investors to ensure all parties were in agreement.
“It was cumbersome, it was difficult, it took some time and it was very unpleasant for me, and unpleasant for many of you also,” he said. “But what we have now is a viable, shovel-ready project that’s fully-funded with construction permits in hand.”
The five city council members in attendance subsequently approved the changes to allow the project to go forward.
Mayor Robert DeSana complimented Thomas for “taking on two huge white elephants in the city. For me, it’s really exciting to see where we are at and I have great faith in you, Ron. We’ll be proud and happy when it’s done and it will be a great addition to our downtown.”