First reading approved for 1225 N. Main St. apartment development

ROYAL OAK — The first reading of an application to conditionally rezone 1225 N. Main St. from neighborhood business to multiple-family residential was approved in a unanimous decision by the City Commission on Jan. 26. 

The conditional rezoning and site plan would allow for construction of a new multiple-family building with 12 stacked flat-style dwellings. The plan was previously discussed by the Planning Commission during its meeting on Jan. 13, where it held a public hearing. 

According to the agenda packet, under the site’s existing neighborhood business zoning, only buildings with dwellings on upper levels above a commercial use on the ground floor are allowed. 

Commissioner Brandon Kolo asked Joseph Murphy, director of planning, if the site had been previously reviewed by the Planning Commission with only 10 dwellings proposed. 

“The petitioner was in front of the Planning Commission and did receive approval for a building with 10 dwellings. They, in their due diligence period, discovered some constraints with the site that necessitated them having to go back through the approval process,” Murphy said. “They increased the number of dwellings to 12.”

Murphy said that the plans were positively received by the Planning Commission on both occasions, and each time the Planning Commission recommended approval of the site plan. 

Jason Krieger, of Krieger Klatt Architects, presented the plans during the meeting. 

“We literally just saw the property for sale one day, and it was kind of a fluke, and we said, ‘Well, what could we do there,’ and then we were talking to other developers. It was too small for anybody that we work with, and we found a solution we thought worked, which is what we are showing you today,” he said. “It’s a small site, it really seems like it needs to be multifamily, there is multifamily around it, and there is single family north of it, and it’s too small to do just a blanketed commercial development.”

The proposal is 12 units total with 15 parking spaces. Krieger said that the parking spaces will be in the back of the apartments. 

“The alleyway is a great way to have those services function as well as the trash and everything else,” he said. “I have been renting properties personally for 25 years; it’s almost always single tenants, so our parking ratio will absolutely work.”

Krieger said that the location will be appealing to look at. 

“What’s kind of cool is that we got a little more green space to the north. All of our parking is behind, so as you drive down Main Street, you see a nice building, we have patios, we have balconies there,” he said. “We got more landscaping, more trees, etc. We are proposing street trees along Main Street, which we want to do. We want people to drive by any place we have ever bought or done, and we want it to look beautiful at all points at all times.”

The apartments are designed so that residents can park in the spots and immediately walk into their apartments without having to go through a parking garage or common area. 

“We feel like there is a need for this … so we really feel that these are going to do great,” Krieger said. 

Kolo asked the petitioner to provide some benefits of building on the property. 

“I would like to underscore that there hasn’t been any new development in this area from 12 Mile on Main across from this cemetery down to Crooks in 40-some years,” said Dennis Cowan, attorney for the petitioner. “So, this will be the first new construction and I think it will be positive. But, we are going to remove two curb cuts from Main Street, we are going to install EV chargers for four vehicles, and utilize the Energy Star appliances.”

Cowan also said that they are going to include on-site bicycle racks, comply with stormwater retention, and more. 

Mayor Michael Fournier said that he believes that the proposal is a very good idea for the city. He said that it would be difficult to propose anything else to be built on this lot because it is such a unique location. 

 “Nobody’s going to be interested in building anything on this lot, and so you have to think creatively, you have to think residential, and this is a really good fit,” Fournier said. “There is multifamily around it. … To me, it’s a really cool thing.”

Commissioner Rebecca Cheezum said that she likes the look of the project. 

“I think there are a lot of things that align with our vision for the new master plan,” Cheezum said. “I’m excited about this project.”

Krieger said that the project will go before the City Commission once more for a second reading to gain final approval before they can submit for building permits. The date of the second reading was unknown at press time.  Krieger estimates a late spring to summer start to construction. 

For more information, visit romi.gov.