The Alpena County Land Bank Authority has secured close to a $1 million to demolish blighted properties across the community, including the former Big Boy restaurant on Chisholm Street, by the George Washington Bridge.
Other demolition projects include a house on Parker Avenue, three homes on Bedford Street and the former Tuskies Bar & Grill on the corner of Long Lake Avenue and Adams Street.
Eric Peterson has purchased the former Big Boy and is in the process of finalizing plans for an approximate $12 million mixed-use development at the site, consisting of commercial space on the bottom floor with housing on the upper floors. How tall that building will be, the type of housing- apartments or condos, along with the commercial tenant or tenants are all decisions that are still pending.
Peterson is receiving roughly $230,000 through the Land Bank, which will be used toward demolition costs. He said he will divulge additional details on the project when the time is right.
Lenny Avery is the Economic Development Coordinator for Target Alpena, and he is also overseeing the Land Bank Authority. He said the housing demolitions and the bar demolition are a mixed bag of agreements that include deals with property owners who could not otherwise afford to clean up the blight, properties seized due to unpaid property taxes and more. In the end, he said the goal is to remove blighted properties from neighborhoods and then to get those properties back on the tax rolls.
Avery went on to say the Land Bank has an agreement with Habitat for Humanity which will build new homes at the three Bedford Street sites. The new homes will hit the real estate market. A plan for the Parker Avenue and former Tuskies locations has not yet been finalized.
