Wayne Hofmann of Wade Trim discusses future Wyandotte Downtown Development Authority projects during a March 21 capital improvement plan stakeholder meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – The Downtown Development Authority sought resident input March 21 during a capital improvement plan stakeholder meeting that highlighted alleys, parking lots and associated infrastructure, as well as possible funding sources.
DDA Director Joe Gruber said the purpose of the session was to provide an overview and background, and to bring participants up-to-date on current proposals.
He said the physical condition of the public infrastructure in the downtown area is in a significant state of distress.
“The alleyways and the parking lots have potholes, cracks and are crumbling,” he said. “But the good news is there is a tremendous amount of development and a tremendous amount of excitement happening in the downtown: More restaurants, more commercial businesses are activating and we have a significant amount of construction and development in the pipeline.”
Gruber said the city is expecting up to 100 new residential apartment units and condominiums to be built in the downtown in the next two to three years, and while the development is exciting, it strains the public infrastructure.
“We are going to have more garbage trucks, more delivery trucks, more vehicles traveling, and I would like to use this as an opportunity to not only improve our infrastructure for today and for tomorrow, but 50, 60, 70 years down the road for future development,” he said.
Gruber said the plan takes a broader view to prepare for Wyandotte’s future development in the downtown area.
“There is a lot of positive momentum in the world of waterfront recreation along the Detroit River,” he said. “If you look at the Detroit River coast between Detroit and Toledo, there are industrial developments that are coming about, industrial developments that are shutting down, and a significant state of change for our region.”
Gruber said this is an opportunity for the city to develop the downtown in a way that accommodates not only garbage and delivery trucks and private vehicle traffic in the city’s alleys, but also provides bicycle paths and pedestrian walkways.
“The goal is to create an interconnecting network of greenways and mixed-use pathways that can also be used by commercial businesses,” he said.
Gruber said the pandemic negatively impacted the supply chain and the price of construction materials significantly, but at the same time the federal government was releasing spending packages which created windfalls for many local communities.
“So, with all these crazy factors flying around with our infrastructure and our future development, and our current development, and all this money that’s available, we decided to bring in the big guns, and hired a bunch of consultants from Wade Trim.”
Wayne Hofmann, client funding director for Wade Trim, who advances client objectives by finding infrastructure financing sources and developing strategies, said that for too long, the alleys behind businesses have been forgotten.
“Smart communities are learning how to make alleys for people, because if you think of where your parking lots are, just think of downtown, they are behind the businesses, so, in a lot of ways, that is your gateway,” he said. “So, thinking of alleys a little differently than you might have done in the past – parking lots are the first thing that people see, but if the in-between your business and the parking lot doesn’t look so great, that’s not a good first impression.”
Hofmann said he wants to hear the priorities of residents.
“We have a big list of projects the city has said we’d like to look at, that the DDA would like to look at, and most likely you are not going to do them all at once,” he said. “We need to prioritize what we are going to do in those areas, and we need to hear from you before we start any kind of design.”
Hofmann said they are trying to leverage the infrastructure funding that is available.
“There is not a source that will come in and pay for every single lot in your downtown and it won’t repave every single alley, but we want to be very enterprising in using what is out there and available to bring as much as we can to Wyandotte.”
Hofmann said they have divided the projects into those that are east of Biddle Avenue, and those west of it.
The east area projects run from Eureka to Elm, with parts of the area eligible for Brownfield Tax Incremental Financing reimbursement through the city hall redevelopment.
The area east of Biddle has the potential for green infrastructure areas, and has alleys that run from “poor” to “fair,” and sewers that are 50 to 70 years old.
The downtown area west of Biddle is larger, with more parking areas, and more potential green infrastructure areas. The alleys also run from “poor” to “fair.”
Hofmann said funding for green infrastructure initiatives in the near term may come from a Michigan Coastal Zone Management Grant, Wayne County American Rescue Plan Act funding and the AARP Communities Challenge.
He said over the next year the National Fish and Wildlife Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund may provide resources, as might the Herrick Foundation, which has matching grants for Coastal Zone Management, as well as federal and state congressional appropriations.
Hofmann said that funding sources to explore for project implementation include grants from Safe Streets and Roads for All, Healthy Streets and grants designed for charging and fueling infrastructure for electric vehicles.
He said there is funding for bike infrastructure through transportation alternative grants, and possibly through Michigan’s ARPA money under the parks and recreation designation.
Hofmann said the state has a revolving loan fund, or green reserve, for projects as well, which have lower interest rates that traditional bonds, and are at 1.875 to 2.125 percent, versus 3 percent, over 20 to 30 years, with grant components and principal forgiveness available for some projects.
He said other funding options include the Governors Conference/Green Bond investments, Brownfield Tax Incremental Financing and Downtown Development Authority Revenue Bonds.