The Oakland University Anton/Frankel Center, located at 20 South Main Street, may be the next Mount Clemens City Hall and Fire Department headquarters.
By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published July 2, 2025
MOUNT CLEMENS — The city of Mount Clemens announced on June 27 it had entered into a purchase agreement with Oakland University for its Anton/Frankel Center campus at 20 South Main Street.
The city intends to purchase the building pending a 60-day due diligence period, after which it intends to convert 20 South Main into a new City Hall and station for the city’ Fire Department.
Plans to move City Hall have circulated for around five years as redeveloping the waterfront has been one of the city’s strategic goals. There was also a 2017 estimate that showed renovating the City Hall at 1 Crocker Boulevard would cost “millions,” according to Mayor Laura Kropp. Knowing the university had offered the city 20 South Main in the past, news of changes with Oakland University’s Macomb County presence led to city officials taking their shot at the building.
“We had heard that Oakland was going to cease operations at its Mount Clemens facility at 20 South Main,” Kropp said. “I inquired with some folks who were involved in that original deal to see if maybe that would be feasible to start looking at an opportunity … I knew that there were plans that had existed at some point, some renderings that showed City Hall would fit there. The opportunity presented itself and we acted.”
The Mount Clemens City Commission agreed to the purchase agreement with Oakland University at its June 2 meeting, which included a $1.5 million price tag, a $25,000 down payment and the 60-day due diligence period. City Manager Gregg Shipman stressed that these two months or so are critical to actually closing the sale.
“The only real way we’re going to know is to get in there and look at everything,” Shipman said. “Do a complete inspection of the building, look at the condition of the building and then you can come up with a determination for the cost of the buildout. The preliminary numbers show that it’s feasible and it fits in the budget, but that’s really the stage that we’re at right now going forward.”
Pending inspections, the current plans call for adding three apparatus bays to the south of 20 South Main for a relocated Mount Clemens Fire Department. Plans to have the fire department in 20 South Main along with the city have been present since the university first offered the building, and Shipman said having a single building for government services is a cost-savings measure seen throughout the municipal world.
“That’s the trend you’re seeing now,” Shipman said. “Instead of separate buildings for municipal offices, your fire station (and) your police station, you’re seeing now that they’re combining them under one roof and really it’s cost savings.”
As of now, many details about the move are in an outline stage. Shipman expects to begin requesting design proposals for 20 South Main as soon as the due diligence period is successful, followed almost immediately by a request for construction proposals. The city manager targets 2027 for the beginning of construction and a potential move-in date as early as later that year or in early 2028. Funding for the move has so far been covered by $2 million in earmarked state funds, which will also be used to cover initial engineering and construction costs to retrofit the building for municipal use. The city plans to work with Macomb County and the office of state Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-District 61, to secure more funding throughout the move and future developments at the current municipal site.
Once the city is able to move its offices and the fire station to 20 South Main, the plan is to convert the land into a mixed-use residential and commercial development while leaving space for public use along the Clinton River waterfront. The city is currently looking for partners for this aspect of the project. Other aspects of the site such as the continued maintenance of the fire department mural are also being considered.
Kropp first officially announced the city’s intentions to move City Hall downtown at the 2024 State of the City address in October. Shipman made reference to the waterfront redevelopment aspect on July 30, 2024, following the demolition of the motel at One North River Road.