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GROSSE POINTE CITY — A former bank building being repurposed as a private office is getting a few other changes as well.
The building at 17449 E. Jefferson Ave. — whose most recent occupant was Chase Bank — will be getting a 2,916-square-foot, half-court indoor basketball court and an uncovered patio area of about 450 square feet that will face Jefferson Avenue. Grosse Pointe Shores businessman Michael Aubrey, who acquired the structure last year to use for his personal office, requested a variance amendment from the Grosse Pointe City Council earlier this year, but officials and the city’s planners sent the proposal back for revisions. Sitting as the Zoning Board of Appeals and then as the Planning Commission, the council voted unanimously March 16 in favor of Aubrey’s new proposal and site plan.
Aubrey sought the variance amendment because he’s known to work long hours and wanted to be able to offer an amenity to attract potential employees.
“I am competing (for) the best talent in the world,” Aubrey told the council.
At the same time, the building isn’t expected to have much traffic, as only a maximum of six employees are expected to be there.
Aubrey said that recreational uses “are allowed by residential zoning,” and his property had been rezoned as residential. It’s surrounded by residential properties.
He said his team tried to respond to concerns raised by neighbors and officials as they amended the proposal.
“I hope you see we took your comments seriously,” Aubrey said. “We’re trying to make this a beautiful building in the neighborhood.”
The former bank sits on a property of nearly half an acre.
Among the changes made to the plan since January were eliminating a curb cut on Rivard Boulevard that allows access to the parking lot only from Jefferson and increased landscaping in the parking lot, which City Planner Laura Mangan, of McKenna, said reduced the number of parking spaces.
“They have accommodated as much green space as possible,” Mangan said.
Some of these adjustments resulted in greater safety for motorists and pedestrians, she said.
There were also positive changes made to the façade, Mangan said.
“We find that with these improvements, the proposal is now in scale with … the character of the historic building,” Mangan said.
A utilitarian 20-foot light pole on the northwest corner of the property is being removed as well, which Mangan said should mean less light intrusion for residential neighbors.
Dave Grupenhoff, who lives a couple of doors away from the building on Rivard Boulevard, praised the changes.
“I think (this is) substantially better than what was offered in January,” Grupenhoff said. “I think that he has made a good-faith effort” for the city and the neighborhood.
He felt closing the Rivard driveway was a big plus for his neighborhood because it will reduce traffic on the residential street.
Grupenhoff didn’t object to the basketball court.
“He needs to have amenities that are consistent with what his competitors are doing,” he said.
Not all residents were in favor of the project. Russ Ethridge, who lives on University Place, said that the office is “a nonconforming use.” The retired judge said cities and courts have worked to eliminate such nonconforming uses.
“The project he proposes looks first-class … but it does not belong there,” Ethridge said.
Edward Jeffries, who owns an empty parcel on the north side of the former bank property, also remains opposed.
“The addition, I think, is too big for the community. … I think it will change the appearance of Jefferson Avenue,” said Jeffries, adding that the architecture “is not compatible with the neighborhood homes.”
Jeffries didn’t see the hardship that would necessitate the addition of the basketball court addition, either.
Liz Jeffries, who co-owns the empty parcel next to the bank, said she questioned “the massive size” of the addition.
“It’s a visual assault to my eyes,” she said. “It’s too big.”
Because Aubrey’s work in the field of private equity sometimes requires him to work early in the morning, into the evening or, less frequently, on weekends, he also asked the council to remove the limit of hours of operation for the building, which had been listed as only being from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Aubrey said he has clients all over the world.
Preservation of the historical building was important to many in the community.
According to the Grosse Pointe Historical Society, 17449 E. Jefferson was built before World War I and served in many capacities, including as medical offices, a hardware store, a barbershop, a drugstore and more, with some of these uses overlapping. For example, the drugstore Schettler’s was there from 1918 to 1947, while the Grosse Pointe Savings Bank and Grosse Pointe Bank occupied the building concurrently, from 1915 to 1954. In 1954, it became a branch of National Bank of Detroit. It later became a Bank One and at some point became Chase. The website showcase.com states that the two-story structure is 6,560 square feet and was built in 1912. Chase closed that branch circa December 2021; there was already another Chase branch nearby in The Village business district.
“That’s been for sale for a long time and nobody’s been interested in it for a long time,” said Grupenhoff.
The only exception was a couple who proposed putting a restaurant there, a plan that concerned neighbors and city officials and ultimately didn’t come together.
City Councilman Chris Walsh said the building had been empty for eight years when it sold for about $2 million. He said one of their goals as a city was to encourage adaptive reuse of existing landmark buildings like this one.
“These are positive developments we as a city want to see,” Walsh said.
Some others in the community agreed.
“I think this is the highest and best use (for this building) as we stand right now,” Grupenhoff said.
Mayor Sheila Tomkowiak said the building could otherwise get demolished to make way for new development.
“The historic building could come down,” she said.
Tomkowiak also noted that, by right, if the building was torn down, residential housing as tall as 34 feet could be built there; the current building is 24 feet tall.
For neighbors, Walsh pointed out that this type of office use would still be less intense than bank use. With its former ATM, he said the bank had traffic around the clock.
At press time, some renovations were underway.
