Purchase agreement talks between the city and Core Resources must be completed by March 10.
Courtesy City of Ypsilanti
Discussions between the city of Ypsilanti and a developer, who will bring one of the nation's largest retail discount chains to the long-vacant Water Street property, are progressing well, City Planner Teresa Gillotti says.
"We've been in regular communications with Core Resources, who does the development for Family Dollar," Gillotti said. "We're working through the purchase agreement and some changes to the site plan, which is going well."
The store will be approximately 8,320 square feet and on the northeast corner of the Water Street site, at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Park Street.
The Ypsilanti City Council voted 4-1 on Nov. 21 to approve a letter of intent from Core Resources, Inc., on behalf of its client Family Dollar Stores of Michigan, to purchase 1.25 acres of the 38-acre Water Street site. Mayor Paul Schreiber and Council Member Susan Moeller were absent from the meeting.
The property is owned by the city and Core will pay $210,000 to purchase the land.The property was removed from the market for three months, after the development agreement was signed Dec. 10.
"The next steps will be the purchase agreement, which is the actual point of transferring property," Gillotti said. "We would have a closing. ... At that point, the city is saying we're in and Core is saying we're in."
Those 90 days will be up March 10 and all of the final details of the purchase agreement must be hammered out by then. The agreement would then go before council before the end of February or early March.
When council considers the agreement, a public hearing will be held at that meeting. For every potential sale on the Water Street property, a public hearing will be held to keep the public involved in the project, Gillotti said.
"It will be important for community members to speak and make their opinions known," Gillotti said. "If we get through the purchase agreement, then we get to construction if the deal goes through."
Family Dollar is hoping to have construction started by the spring or early summer of this year and completed by late summer. Family Dollar will invest at least $800,000, not including land cost, in the construction and development of the property. The overall investment could exceed $1.2 million.
The taxable value for the property is expected to be between $350,000 and $500,000, and should generate about $30,000 in taxes.
The store will employ between eight and 10 people, some of whom will be part-time employees.
The city has long sought development possibilities for the Water Street. The city started acquiring parcels of the Water Street property in 2001, with the expectation that it would quickly attract mixed-use development.
Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for AnnArbor.com.Reach her at katreasestafford@annarbor.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on twitter.