UPDATE: The public hearing has been postponed, with a new date TBA.
The proposed Nye’s Apple Barn re-development will be front and center at the St. Joseph Township Planning Commission tonight, 6:30 pm at the Township Hall on Washington Avenue. Property owner John znye will detail his plans for the site where his family grew and sold fruits and vegetables for decades.
Today, in preparation for the meeting, Nye released a statement and a conceptual drawing of what his plan might look like in a few years. It suggests four multi-family, two-story residential apartment buildings along the back or East side of the property, with a commercial strip along Niles Avenue. Possible businesses suggested are a couple of restaurants, a gas station and a branch bank.
Nye points out the project, as envisioned, is right in line with recommendations of a 2017 Township Master Plan:
“The new apartments will also help fulfill a goal of the 2017 Master Plan, which encourages a variety of housing choices, including those known as the “missing middle,” that represent a range of multi-unit housing to improve transitions between residential, commercial, and other development areas.2”
“When a developer expressed interest in the land I wanted to make sure the sale would be the right kind of progress for the area,” said Nye. “I met with every resident whose home bordered the property to discuss the plans in detail, plus outlined how I could pay for and build a natural barrier to help separate their property from the new development.”
A steering committee was appointed, in 2014, to put together a guide for growth in St. Joseph Township. The resulting 2017 Master Plan was approved by the Planning Commission and Township Board. That plan classifies the Nye’s Apple Barn parcel as Neighborhood Mixed-Use, which is defined as areas that “provide a mix of residential and commercial uses. Developments may include a mix of housing types, including multi-family units, and a variety of retail, service, and office uses.”
Nye says he is sympathetic to concerns of residential neighbors to the East, and has taken action to address those concerns:
To help create a natural sound and light barrier between the apartment buildings and residential homes located behind his property, Nye constructed a berm and paid for and added a line of Norway Spruce trees that will fill in and grow to over 40 feet in height. The final feature of the plan includes an easement for a proposed bicycle path between Niles Avenue and the new development as a public recreation area. However, Nye says the most important addition is one that will improve traffic flow for what has become a very congested area.
“We’ve been approved [by MDOT] for a traffic light on Niles Avenue and Dozer Drive,” says Nye. “The Dozer Drive situation is a 50 year problem. The development would close the portion of Dozer Drive that currently feeds into Niles Avenue at the I-94 interchange. Dozer Drive would be rerouted along a new access road to the new traffic light allowing everyone a safe and orderly way to get onto Niles Avenue.”
Nye and his neighbors will go before the Planning Commision and a vote is expected at the end. The Township Board has the final say at an upcoming meeting.
