By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Ehman Center owners Legacy LO have cleared the first step in turning the almost 100-year-old building into a multi-faced living and working center’gaining the Lake Orion Village Planning Commission’s approval for recommendation.
Legacy partners presented a conceptual plan for an optional 46 to 57 unit mixed use facility, incorporating office use, retail, residential housing, an event space and potential caf? to commissioners Monday night.
To provide this type of venue, Legacy LO is required to rezone the parcels from Village One Family Dwelling (single family residential) to a Planned Unit Development (PUD).
‘I agree with the planner that this is a very nice prospect. The Ehman Center is a building standing there waiting for help,? Commission Chair Dikka Berven said.
With a 6-0 vote, commissioners recommended that village council find Legacy LO eligible for consideration as a PUD based on their conceptual plan meeting the eligibility requirements. Attached to their recommendation are five conditions the site plan must meet before village council ultimately approves it.
The bulk of the project would be renovating the historic building itself to include all the different uses, while maintaining as much historical integrity as possible, Co-owner Kellie McDonald said.
Lake Orion’s first kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade-school is stocked with different size class rooms, suitable for office space, townhomes and lofts.
The first draft of the conceptual plan shows 39 townhomes at 1,200 square feet each, four lofts on the upper floor at 600 square feet each, and 12 to 14 third floor office units at 650 sq. ft. each.
Immediately surrounding the center would be public space, including a garden center, a potential caf?, a possible trailhead to the Paint Creek Trail once it is extended, and several seating areas and bike racks.
McDonald said the final product, being only two blocks away, could be an extension of the downtown area.
‘We worked really hard with the village, the township the county, the Downtown Development Authority, everyone , to make sure we are doing something that is going to benefit the community. It’s a really exciting plan,? she said.
Legacy LO is composed of local entrepreneurs and Dragons McDonald, Christian Mills, Todd Garris and Scott Garretson. They purchased the near 88-year-old building from the Oakland County Treasury Department for $45,000 in 2014.?
Legacy LO sees the project as an integral investment to the community.
‘That’s our objective, to really bring business downtown, and to support our existing businesses,? Mills said, adding that the density is critical.
While the conceptual plan is still in the first stages, residential density must be tweaked in order to provide adequate parking spaces. This could be achieved buy purchasing one of the original Ehman Center parcels, a portion of the parking lot right across the street, from the Village of Lake Orion.
‘I think we can find a middle ground. We would ultimately like to keep enough flexibility to find a useful and viable use of that building,? McDonald said, noting each owner is invested in this community.
The next step for Legacy LO is to formally apply for a PUD with the village.
Conditions for final PUD eligibility approval include: acquiring control of all parcels involved in the concept plan, including the parcels owned by the village and other entities; contingency upon the village approval of RM zoning, or multi-family zoning; the PUD must not exceed the number of residential units per the ordinance; the PUD must be modified to resolve the parking deficiencies; and Legacy LO must submit written evidence of the right to cross the school property adjacent to the main site.