A proposed land swap designed to expand the amount of development and free public parking in downtown Oxford is moving forward.
On Monday night, the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board voted 8-0 to ‘conceptually agree? with developer Dave Weckle’s proposed project, which hinges on the DDA trading the three parcels it owns along E. Burdick St. for a 58-space parking lot that Weckle intends to build.
Weckle would use the DDA properties, combined with adjacent properties he already owns, to construct a major mixed-use development encompassing portions of E. Burdick, Mill and Stanton streets.
‘If you ask my opinion, I like the idea,? said Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn, who serves on the DDA board.
‘I support this whole project. I think it makes sense,? said DDA board member Ed Hunwick. ‘The (DDA) property’s been sitting there vacant. We’re not doing anything with it.?
Weckle’s development would consist of three, two-story buildings that would include a mix of office, retail and residential spaces, plus 58 new paved parking spaces.
The proposed development would encompass five properties along E. Burdick St. and three properties along Stanton St.
Weckle, who owns Valley Building and Repair Company at 29 Broadway St., currently owns five of the properties ? 42 and 46 E. Burdick St., plus 19, 21 and 23 Stanton St.
He needs to acquire the other three properties ? 32, 36 and 38 E. Burdick St. ? to make it happen, hence, his offer to the DDA, which owns them.
The DDA purchased the three properties for a total of $585,000 in 2001 and 2002. All three had houses and backyards when the DDA bought them. The backyards were later split off and converted into public parking, while the houses were moved.
Together, the DDA properties now total 0.34 acre.
When the DDA had the properties appraised last year, they were valued at a combined $194,900, according to village Manager Joe Young.
The new parking lot Weckle has proposed to trade for the DDA properties would be built using the properties he owns at 46 E Burdick St. and 23 Stanton St., plus some land in between.
Based on what he purchased this land for, Weckle indicated the approximate value of it is $342,850.
The cost to develop the property into a 0.40-acre parking lot is $327,350 based on an estimate from Weckle’s engineer.
Bottom-line, from Weckle’s perspective, he’s offering to trade the village land in which he’ll have invested $670,200, when all is said and done, for DDA properties worth $194,900.
‘I’m offering the land and the improvements, and you’re offering land (in this trade) ? and then I’m going to improve those (DDA lots) and you’re going to tax me,? Weckle told the board.
The benefit to the DDA is two-fold.
One, it would gain a significant amount of additional free, public parking, which many believe is in short supply in downtown Oxford these days.
‘Right now, on the weekends in particular, (from) Thursday on, it’s hard to find a spot to park,? Weckle said. ‘It doesn’t matter which quadrant you go to. They’re pretty full, which is a good thing.?
Village planner Christopher Khorey, of the Northville-based McKenna Associates, basically stated the same thing in a May 11 memo to the DDA.
‘The proposed parking lot would help ease the overcrowding of the existing lots in the downtown area during peak hours, especially the southeast quadrant,? he wrote.
Two, according to Young’s estimates, once Weckle develops the three E. Burdick St. properties, they alone would generate approximately $54,000 in additional annual tax revenue for the DDA.
Right now, they generate no revenue for the DDA and haven’t done so for more than a decade. That’s because land owned by a local government isn’t subject to taxation.
Weckle plans to construct his development in phases.
Phase I would consist of constructing a two-story, 16,000-square-foot mixed-use building on the east corner of Mill and E. Burdick streets, plus the 58-space parking lot.
Weckle hopes to start Phase I construction this fall and have occupancy in the first building by midsummer next year.
Phase II calls for a two-story, 8,000-square-foot mixed-use building on the west corner of Mill and E. Budick streets.
‘Those two corner lots, they’re very visible and I think that they (each) should have a signature building on them,? he said. ‘I want to be the one that builds them.?
Phase III consists of constructing a two-story, 12,000-square-foot mixed-use building at the corner of Stanton and Mill streets.
Phase IV calls for building townhouses on two parcels to the east of the proposed parking lot, but Weckle has yet to acquire those properties.
Weckle doesn’t intend to own and lease any of the units in the mixed-use buildings. They would all be condominiums. He doesn’t want to be a landlord.
‘At this point, I think everything’s rosy in our community,? he told the DDA board. ‘The first building is pretty much sold already.?
He indicated he’d like to have the whole development completed in ‘less than five years.?
‘If it’s two years or three years, that would be awesome,? Weckle said. ‘But I think it would be at least two (years), at a minimum.?
Weckle has yet to submit his plans to the village for review and approval.
Zoning in this area of the downtown does allow for three-story buildings and Weckle is willing to go up a story if the demand is there. If he did, the third floors would be sold as high-end residential condos.
Weckle noted so far, all of the interest in this proposed development has been from parties seeking office space.
‘I’m leaning (toward) office because I just don’t see the demand for retail (space) downtown, unfortunately,? he said. ‘Office seems to be the demand. And the market dictates what we do.?
DDA board member Jerry Cremin, owner of Sullivan’s Public House, would like the new DDA director to help find potential retail occupants for Weckle’s proposed development because he believes they do more to help attract visitors to downtown areas than office buildings.
Village President Sue Bossardet, who also serves on the DDA board, agreed.
‘I think this is exactly the kind of project that we want our new DDA director to be focusing on and getting more retail (businesses) downtown,? she said. ‘And this would be a perfect place.?