Plan calls for demolition of 131-year-old Mason building, new construction

MASON - The owner of a 131-year-old building in the city's downtown wants to demolish it and construct new retail and office space.

The plan to replace the aging building at 154 W. Maple St. with a 24,287-square-foot, three-story, mixed-use building was submitted by property owner Brian Brady, of Okemos-based Red Oak Holdings, LLC, earlier this year. 

A representative at Brady's Okemos office told a reporter last week that Brady declined to comment on the proposal.

Documents Brady has submitted to the city don't indicate how much he plans to invest in the property or what his intended timeline for its construction is.

But in documents from an August public hearing for the project, Chris Weir, a representative for Brady with Studio Intrigue Architects said the plan for the proposed building "seeks to honor the historical significance of the downtown."

City documents indicate the new building will include first-floor commercial or office space, second-floor office space and residential space on the third floor.

The current building, west of Jefferson Street on West Maple Street, was built in 1887, said Mason City Administrator Deborah Stuart, but a facade study completed more than a decade ago indicated it retains none of its original characteristics.

Previously home to a second-hand shoe store, and vacant for several years now, it once housed a first-floor grocery store and second-floor bowling alley, Scott Shattuck, a member of the Ingham County Historical Commission, said.

Jamie Robinson, chair of Mason's Downtown Development Authority, said the building isn't designated as historic, and is in disrepair.

"It’s one of those that's aged beyond deterioration," Robinson said of the building. She said replacing the building with a new one would bring "a much needed boost" to the 100 block of West Maple Street.

Brady bought the property for $105,000 in 2017, according to city documents.

Mason Mayor Russ Whipple said Brady's plans to replace what's there could be significant to the city's downtown.

"It’s pretty much the last significant vacant building downtown," Whipple said. "It’s also the last building downtown, the last old building, that hasn’t seen any improvements."

Mason's Planning Commission granted Brady's final site plan for the property Tuesday.

Whipple said the City Council previously adopted revised downtown building height requirements to allow for a section of the proposed building to be as high as 50 feet. Other existing downtown buildings haven't exceeded 45 feet in height, he said.

"The design that I saw will look very, very nice in that area," Whipple said. "It’s certainly going to look a whole lot nicer than it does now."

Stuart said Brady could start demolition of the existing building by the spring and begin construction of the new structure in the summer, after he secures permits for both. 

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Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.