Construction of a long-awaited riverfront condominium development project near Saginaw’s Old Town business district is geared up to begin early next year.
The site plan for the project, undertaken by the Shaheen family’s SSP Associates, was approved by the Saginaw Planning Commission on Nov. 25.
“Reinvesting in the cities of the Great Lakes Bay Region and building community are core values of Shaheen Development,” said Dr. Samuel J. Shaheen, a surgeon and the firm’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement.
The plan calls for a 30-unit condominium development and 3,600 square feet of retail space on the property along the 300 and 400 blocks of North Hamilton.
In the prepared statement, Shaheen explained why his family sees the condo development as an important investment in Saginaw’s future.
“As we look into the past of the great city of Saginaw, residential living has always been a vital part of the city dynamic,” he said. “A community needs great people to live within it to preserve it and make it grow.”
The new construction sets out to mirror classic urban architecture found in places like Boston, Philadelphia and Brooklyn with Brownstone-style exteriors. The interior of each unit will be classified as more “modern” in style, and each will be customized to the tastes of individual buyers.
‘Spacious’ Brownstone-style condos
Each unit will have either a two- or three-bedroom layout.
A spokesperson for Shaheen Development described the units as “spacious,” saying they will feature large patios and balconies, classic Brownstone-style stooped entrances, connected parking, open-floor-plan kitchens, living and dining rooms and large master bedrooms with suite-style bathrooms and walk-in closets.
Work on the project will be split into three phases, according to Saginaw Chief Inspector John Stemple. The developer plans to gauge interest in the units constructed in the first phase before beginning work on the second and third, Stemple said.
“It’s kind of a neat design,” he said.
Phase 1 will construct 12 units on north end of the property nearest to Madison Street. Of those 12, eight will be single-story units and four will be two-story.
Shaheen Development expects to break ground in the spring of 2015, with move-ins planned for the fall of 2015.
According to the site plan, the final goal is to have 12 two-story units facing the Saginaw River, along what is now Niagara Street. Each of those two-story units would feature 2,560 square feet of space and an attached 528-square-foot, two-car garage.
Across a central north-south drive with gated entry points to both Ames and North Madison, the plan calls for another 18 one-story units. Those units, 2,112 square feet each, will be stacked two stories high on nine sites. Each unit will have a front-facing entry on Hamilton and a rear entry with access to garage spaces along the development’s interior drive.
Stemple said the ultimate plan is to permanently close a portion of Niagara, which stands between the planned development and the riverfront. He said the question of whether to vacate that stretch of Niagara, which currently dead-ends just north of Madison, must come before the City Council.
Ultimately, Stemple said, a connecter will link the condos to the city of Saginaw’s riverwalk system.
A long time coming
The Shaheen family’s plan to build riverfront condominiums in Saginaw has been a long time coming. Tabled more than once over the last several years, the idea for the project has been around for more than a decade.
The land itself is the former home of Topham Printing Co., 314 N. Hamilton, destroyed in a 1991 blaze. The next year, a fire ruined the one-time Jackson and Church Co. warehouse next door, the 1880 birthplace of Saginaw Steering Gear, known today as Nexteer Automotive.
The city of Saginaw bought the property for $145,500 in 2001 and spent $40,000 on site cleanup two years later. City leaders later gave the site to the Shaheens as part of a development agreement, according to Saginaw News archives.
But, according to tax records, the property is still owned by the city of Saginaw. City officials say the property transfer will soon take place, per the existing development agreement.
The initial idea for the development was made public in 2003, and the first version of a purchase and development agreement between the city and the potential developer was approved by City Council in 2005.
The original plan called for a possible $6.1 million, 30-unit townhouse complex.
Since that time, a poor housing market and other factors delayed the project’s start. City Council has extended the timeline of the agreement three times since 2005.
On May 5, Saginaw City Council again agreed to extend the project timeline, giving SSP Associates a deadline of June 30, 2016, to complete construction.
Speaking to a Leadership Saginaw County class in April, Shaheen said the project was something the company wanted to tackle because it will be good for the community, acknowledging it was not a “sure bet” from a business perspective.
“There’s not a profit motive with this project,” he said. “And I mean that sincerely. This is more of a goal, try to attain a goal and not lose your shirt. If you’re able to make a small profit or break even, it’s worth the work because you’re impacting your community. And that goodwill makes things happen other places.”
Stemple said he and other city officials are excited to see the project moving forward after sitting on a shelf for so long.
“It’s a good project for the city,” he said. “We’ve been sort of sitting on this one for a good 10 years. Maybe this is a sign things are turning around.”
An important incentive
One of the barriers to the project was born out of the developer’s desire to lock in tax-free status as an incentive for potential condo buyers. That barrier was overcome earlier this year when single-issue legislation was passed by the Michigan Legislature and signed into law.
Senate Bill 553 of 2013 — sponsored by state Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw Township — was signed into law on March 4.
The law permits a special extension of Michigan’s now-closed Renaissance Zone program for the Old Town property. It allowed the developer to seek an eight-year extension in addition to a seven-year extension already approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Since that time, the additional extension has been approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund and by city and county authorities, as required by law.
The now-15-year extension of the Renaissance Zone for the property will offer residents and businesses exemptions from state and local income and property tax through Dec. 31, 2029.
Assuming an annual household salary of $100,000 and a property value of $150,000, the Renaissance Zone exemptions would equate to an estimated annual savings of more than $8,000.
Speaking to that same Leadership Saginaw County class in April, Shaheen said that incentive was a critical element for the project. He said the aim behind the tax benefits is to encourage individuals to invest in the community, something the market alone likely cannot accomplish.
“The concept was to have stakeholders, to have owners take ownership in the city of Saginaw, in Old Town,” he said.
For more information on the development, please contact the company by emailing skelly@shaheendevelopment.com.
Source: Mlive.com