MUSKEGON, MI - Groundbreaking on a mixed-use development planned for downtown Muskegon has been delayed again, due to financing problems, but could take place later this summer in the “best case scenario,” according to city officials.
That’s about two years later than originally anticipated, but Muskegon City Manager Frank Peterson expressed optimism that the six-story Leonard building, slated for Western Avenue and Second Street, is still moving forward.
Developer Corey Leonard, of Sweetwater Development Partners, for whom the project is named, was to give an update before city commissioners at a work session earlier this month. But there was not much update to give, Peterson said at that meeting.
“No news isn’t necessarily good news,” Peterson told the commissioners.
When contacted by MLive, Leonard declined to comment about the groundbreaking delay.
Instead of a March groundbreaking, as was publicly anticipated, the developer hopes to break ground later this summer, Peterson said at the meeting.
The project has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and the development team is figuring out their financing as a result, Peterson said. The project was approved to receive $1.5 million in state funding in December, and Peterson said those dollars could be affected by the delay.
“It’s not going to kill the project,” Peterson added.
A construction trailer arrived at the future site of the 51,565-square-foot building in May. The project has been projected to cost $8.9 million and include offices, apartments, underground parking, and 7,348 square feet of retail.
Construction was initially due to begin in fall 2018, and was postponed to May 2019, with an anticipated opening in June 2020.
In December, Leonard said on social media that prospective residents should instead look to a move-in date of March 2021, citing parking issues and the earlier onset of winter weather in Muskegon as reasons for the additional delay.
That announcement came as the project received a significant loan from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), administered through Chemical Bank, from the Michigan Strategic Fund as part of the Michigan Community Revitalization Program, an MEDC project that targets projects on blighted, obsolete or historic properties.
Leonard has also said he plans to add a second, similar building in the area, with condos instead of apartments. He has the option to develop the rest of the block, between First and Second streets.
Leonard is a Muskegon native, who graduated from Reeths-Puffer High School and operates an events graphics company, BigSigns.com, out of Grand Haven. He previously developed 605 W. Western Ave., which is now the site of Muskegon Radiology.
The site of the future Leonard building was once part of the Muskegon Mall, before it was demolished in 2003. It has been vacant ever since.
The site is also within an Opportunity Zone and has been approved by the Muskegon City Commission for a 15-year Neighborhood Enterprise Zone tax exemption.
COVID-19 slowed down construction on some downtown development projects, but that has recently picked back up somewhat, with progress being made at the future Lakeshore Convention Center on Fourth Street between West Western Avenue and Shoreline Drive, the Hartshorn Village condominium project, between Hartshorn Marina on Muskegon Lake and Fricano Place, and construction expected to begin soon on a new hotel that will anchor the future Foundry Square development, on Morris Avenue between First and Third streets.
Read more on MLive:
State funding boost approved for delayed downtown Muskegon mixed-use building
A fish, two owls and other street sculptures unveiled in downtown Muskegon
High water infiltration of wastewater system means higher sewer bills in Muskegon
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