Water Street development: Ypsilanti to hear Family Dollar and Rec Center update

Arthur Itkis, an associate from CBRE and primary contact for the city on the Water Street redevelopment area, will present an update Tuesday on recent marketing efforts.

Itkis also is expected to present on development trends in the area and how the market is responding post-recession.

Family Dollar update

The city is moving forward to meet the letter of intent timeline to bring revised concept plans and a purchase agreement to council on March 5. At that time, a public hearing will be held and a decision is expected to be made by council.

The 90-day purchase agreement was set to expire March 10.

City Planner Teresa Gillotti told AnnArbor.com in January that the city has been in regular communications with Core Resources, the company who does the development for Family Dollar and that talks were going well.

City staff has been working with Family Dollar on some possible design changes to the building. Staff is seeking the following changes:

• Windows along the Michigan Avenue frontage.
• Addition of street trees along Michigan Avenue and Park Street.
• Possible relocation of Dumpster enclosure.
• Consideration of the use of swales for stormwater management.

Staff also has discussed the potential construction of the building to possibly support a second-story addition. Some city council members previously expressed concern regarding whether the building would be limited in its future use to similar one-story stores like Family Dollar.

The store will be about 8,320 square feet and on the northeast corner of the Water Street site, at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Park Street.

The property is owned by the city and Core will pay $210,000 to purchase the land. The property was removed from the market for three months, after the development agreement was signed Dec. 10.

Eastside Recreation Center update

The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission has requested Ypsilanti consider a resolution Tuesday acknowledging its partnership with the city to design, build and operate a community recreation center on Water Street.

"As the next steps for the project will require direct expense on the part of the WCPRC to pay for formal design and estimates, the WCPRC is asking its partners to reaffirm their commitment to the project and to the previously adopted letter of intent," Gillotti wrote.

The original letter of intent was approved Jan. 10, 2012.

The Ann Arbor YMCA, which is expected to provide the management of the center, has formed a committee and has requested development of a marketing study.

Bob Tetens, director of WCPRC, will be in attendance Tuesday to provide additional information on where the project stands.

The city assembled the 38-acre Water Street property about nine years ago with a plan to create a mixed-use residential project. But it hasn't been able to find developers for the property. Officials hope the center will attract more interested parties.

The center would occupy eight of the 38 acres on Water Street. The center is expected to be nearly 60,000 square feet and would be much like the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center that opened in 1991 in Ann Arbor, officials have said.

The center would be nearly 60,000 square feet and will cost roughly between $12 million and $14 million. Officials were expecting construction to begin late 2014 or early 2015.