The development of Water Street has been on the wish list of Ypsilanti politicians and residents for decades. Last night, two developers made their pitches on their vision for the vacant downtown area.
Both developers proposed ideas for the long vacant, 38-acre space along the Huron River. Derric Scott ofJ29:7 Planning and Development went first, followed by Renovare Development. Renovare is the team behind the recently approved Dorsey Estates housing development in Ypsilanti.
Both companies proposed a combination of residential properties, retail and green space.
Jill Ferrari is the managing partner for Renovare, and she says Water Street has so much potential.
“It’s downtown, it is beautiful, directly adjacent to the river, so as we started to make a commitment to Ypsilanti, through Dorsey Estates, and then by moving our office to the city of Ypsilanti, this became one of those things that really fit our business model, our pipeline and our background.”
Ferrari adds the contamination on the Water Street site is “significant” and the brownfield cleanup will be challenging.
The city is still soliciting proposals, but to date, these are the only two developers to make submissions.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
