Planning Commission OKs Carlyle Building rezoning

It's a small step. But for 180Urban, it's one step closer.

The Battle Creek Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional rezoning request from 180Urban during its Wednesday meeting. The request allows for residential use on the first floor at 15 Carlyle St., as developers David Sciacca and Alexa Smolinski are in the planning stages of redeveloping the long-vacant building into residential lofts.

Battle Creek Planning Supervisor Christine Zuzga said the city's master plan calls for mixed-use properties, especially on Michigan Avenue. Zuzga said the planning staff recommended passing the rezoning request, as the Carlyle Building is off of Michigan Avenue.

180Urban will introduce the ordinance to the City Commission on June 7 with hopes of approval during the June 21 meeting.

"Thank you," Sciacca told the commission Wednesday. "That was very painless."

180Urban acquired the Carlyle Building in March in a three-building redevelopment deal with the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority.

The two-story brick building was built in 1903. It has featured several tenants over the years including Alsteel Manufacturing Co., Caviness Cabinet Co., Hermann Business Equipment Co., Officeways Inc. and Rapid Eye Art Supply, among others. The property has been vacant for at least a decade.

Battle Creek Unlimited purchased the Carlyle Building in 2003 for $350,000. The same deal netted BCU 119 W. Michigan Ave., the former Anson Hotel, which it purchased for $195,000. Those properties were then earmarked for redevelopment by BCU's now-defunct Downtown Partnership, which planned to convert the downtown spaces into 26 condominiums and first-floor retail space by as early as 2006.

That project ultimately failed because few people were willing to purchase condominiums without a clear move-in date, former BCU president Karl Dehn told the Enquirer in 2010.

Another plan for the Carlyle Building called for 17 one-bedroom lofts ranging in size from 700 to 1,344 square feet with sale prices beginning at $109,900. However, the 2008 housing market crash halted development plans, forcing BCU to return to the drawing board.

BCU commissioned a study by The Danton Co., which revealed the Carlyle Building had structural issues that made it difficult to market as retail housing, according to Enquirer archives. Researchers recommended demolishing the structure in favor of something more appealing, such as a proposed four-story, elevator-serviced residential structure that would accommodate both single people and families. That, too, never materialized.

Through contract, BCU conveyed the Carlyle Building and several other properties to the land bank in 2010. The deal gave BCU tax relief as well as an option to reacquire any of them and first-refusal rights.

Calhoun County Treasurer and land bank board Chair Christine Schauer first announced the sale of 15 Carlyle St., 64 W. Michigan Ave. and 119 Michigan Ave., in November. Schauer said the land bank is "excited to partner with a local developer," as it will use local workers to breathe life into the buildings as well as return them to the tax rolls.

A rendering of the renovated Carlyle Building provided to the Enquirer shows one- and two-bedroom lofts and studio apartment space with exterior planters, bike storage space, some building storage space and accessible stairwells to access each of the building's levels.

Other business:

• The Planning Commission voted 6-1 in favor of giving the Church of Scientology in Battle Creek a special use permit for its property at 31 N. Washington Ave, the site of the former Hart Hotel. The dissenting vote was cast by Jeremy Andrews. It currently is zoned as C-3 Intensive Business District. The church will meet with NPC No. 2 on June 13 ahead of a June 21 City Commission meeting.
• The commission unanimously approved a special use permit by Jim Austin, amending a previous special use permit to allow for additional storage units to be built on its Columbia Avenue property. It goes to the City Commission for approval on June 7.

Contact Dillon Davis at 269-966-0698 or dwdavis@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DillonDavis