Belleville Development
Ann Arbor News, January 18, 2008
A major grocery store topped by a spacious public library is the centerpiece of a vision for downtown Belleville unveiled at a special meeting Wednesday.
At a joint meeting of the Belleville City Council and Downtown Development Authority started at City Hall, Rick Walker of Walker Developments, based in Montreal, said a national grocery store chain was interested in building downtown.
"(The grocery store) would be an economic boost and a reason for people to stop in Belleville,'' said Rosemary Loria, chairwoman of the DDA.
In addition to the grocery store, Walker Developments would build about 30,000 square feet of retail space on Main Street between Fifth Street and what is now Fourth Street. Housing and office space would be built above the retail.
The new construction would eliminate several buildings, including Chase Bank on the corner of Roys and Main streets. Loria said the bank would rebuild a smaller bank next to the new construction.
The DDA would buy the property for the municipal lots, but would not do so through eminent domain, Loria said. The DDA would have to borrow money for the parking lot projects. It already plans to borrow about $5.5 million for a major reconstruction of Main Street that is planned to start this summer and may have to borrow up to $5 million more for the parking and other aspects of the redevelopment project, Loria said.
-This is an example of what protections offered by the recent Michigan constitutional amendment were intended to do. That is to protect owners' rights to property and allow the market to determine value for property rather than the an uncertain court process forcing owners to accept a government offer.
