The Southgate City Council rezoned the 14-story Southgate Tower, the former PNC Bank Building at 16333 Trenton Road, at its April 20 meeting, from restricted office to planned development, to accommodate a proposal to redevelop it into apartments, with commercial usage on the ground floor.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – Southgate Tower and its 12 surrounding acres, the former PNC Bank Building, was rezoned from restricted office to mixed use planned developing at the April 20 City Council meeting.
The second hearing was held April 20, with the first and initial hearing held during the Sept. 15 virtual city council meeting, which was preceded by a planning commission meeting, which recommended the rezoning.
In an April 15 memo to the council, City Administrator Dustin Lent said the South American country which owned it has completed the sale to Gordon Begin Properties of Madison Heights, which prompted them to request the zoning change, which is required before they can acquire project funding.
At the Sept. 15 online council meeting, Alex Begin, a partner with Gordon Begin Properties of Madison Heights, said asbestos abatement in the high-rise will likely have a $2.7 million price tag, for which they would seek a Brownfield tax credit.
Brownfield tax credits provide a redevelopment incentive in the form of an income tax credit equal to a percentage of the cost of remediating a Brownfield property, with annual and total capped limits. It is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Begin said they would focus on the tower first, and will not look at the redevelopment of other sections of the property at this time, while acknowledging that the existing parking area is vastly larger than what would be needed.
He said the developer’s biggest challenge is obtaining a guaranteed quote from a general contractor.
Begin said the renovation of the high-rise will likely take two to two-and-a-half years to complete.
An analysis by the municipal planning firm of Carlisle Wortman of Ann Arbor noted that the redevelopment would create 115 to 150 apartments.
The rezoning is in conformance with the city’s master plan as it relates to land use.
Mayor Joseph Kuspa said last September that the future utilization of the building is important to the city.
“This is a wonderful prospect for Southgate,” he said.