A proposed 76-unit multiple-family development will be the subject of a 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 public hearing before the Oxford Village Planning Commission.
‘That (citizen) input is going to be very valuable for us,? said commission Chairman John DuVal.
Local developer Chuck Schneider is looking to transform the 3.6-acre former industrial site located at 98 S. Glaspie St. into two residential buildings, two and three stories high, with footprints totalling 42,070 square feet. They would be built in five phases.
‘It’s going to have a profound visual impact in that area,? DuVal said.
‘These are going to start out as apartments. They could ultimately (become) condos,? Schneider told this reporter.
Fifty-two of the units will be part of what is being called ‘The Lofts.? Two phases of the building, which has a 31,950-square-foot footprint, will contain two stories while the remaining phase will be three stories high.
According to the project’s managing partner, Craig Schneider, these will be loft-type units with an industrial look and ‘rough finishes.?
Phase 1 of the Lofts will involve repurposing one of the site’s two existing industrial buildings for residential use. They are currently attached and total 21,400 square feet.
‘The skin is terrible on this building, but the skeleton is sound,? said Lake Orion-based architect Stephen Auger, who’s working on the project. ‘It’s structurally sound.?
The other 24 units will be part of ‘The Villas,? which will consist of a three-story building with a 10,120-square-foot footprint, constructed in two phases. The Villas will feature a more traditional, finished look and each resident will have their own garage.
When completed, the entire project will represent an investment of approximately $10 million. It’s being built in five phases due to the cost.
‘Ideally, Phase 1 pays for Phase 2? and so on and so forth, explained Craig Schneider. ‘That’s why there’s phases.?
‘I bet this goes faster than you think,? noted Commissioner Jack Curtis, who also serves as an elected trustee on the township board and chairs the Economic Development Subcommittee.
According to Curtis, there’s a six-month wait for apartments in Oxford.
‘Yes, this is needed,? he said. ‘Yes, this is wanted.?
Village officials agreed to sell 98 S. Glaspie St. to Schneider back in September when they approved a $225,000 purchase agreement for it.
The village purchased the property for $700,000 in March 2006. Officials have said the main reason the village bought the site was because of its close proximity to the municipal wellfield. They didn’t want to risk another industrial user moving in and possibly contaminating the village’s groundwater supply.
Over the years, the village pondered a number of potential uses for the property, but it always lacked the funds to carry out any plans.
In November 2012, village residents voted 1,069 to 521 to grant the municipality the authority to sell the site, which was appraised at $305,000 last year.