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Commission approves Brownfield plan amendment for Lakeview Lofts Phase 2 at 351 W. Western
Summary
The Muskegon City Commission voted to approve an amendment to the Brownfield plan for the Lakeview Lofts Phase 2 project at 351 West Western, clearing a step toward construction of 64 apartments and first-floor retail with long-term Brownfield reimbursements and an attached $5 million MEDC redevelopment grant.
The Muskegon City Commission on June 10 voted to close the public hearing and approve a Brownfield plan amendment for Lakeview Lofts Phase 2 at 351 West Western, a downtown companion building to the initial Lakeview Lofts project.
Jake Eckholm, the city’s director of development services, told the commission the phase 2 project would add 64 apartments and first-floor retail. Eckholm said the Brownfield plan lists roughly $6,540,000 in eligible activities for reimbursement over the plan’s roughly 30‑year life and noted a companion $5,000,000 redevelopment-in-place grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is attached to the project.
The Brownfield Redevelopment Authority’s administrative costs were estimated at about $385,000 over the life of the plan, Eckholm said, and the board’s five years of tax capture for its revolving fund could be up to $2,150,000. Eckholm said the developer expects to complete final financing and begin construction in September or October following site-plan approval.
During the public hearing no callers or in‑room public speakers spoke, and the commission moved to approve the plan. A motion to close the hearing and approve the Brownfield plan amendment was read aloud and the commission approved it by roll call, with all voting members present voting yes.
The approval aligns the city commission with a unanimous earlier vote by the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Board and clears a municipal step in the project’s financing sequence; Eckholm said the next steps are final financing and starting construction once required permits and site plan reviews are complete.
Commission discussion included one question about whether units could be used as short‑term rentals. Eckholm said the units are in a tax-increment financing geography exempt from the city’s usual short‑term rental caps in TIF overlays, but he said that is “not the current plan for the developer” and the units are “meant to be long term leases.” He also noted an affordability component: "because of the housing TIF component...50% of the units will be restricted to a 20% AMI or below for the life of the brownfield," he said.
The commission’s approval authorizes the city to accept the Brownfield plan amendment and proceed with the city-level steps needed to finalize the project’s Brownfield financing arrangements. Eckholm said the developer was on hand and staff would continue to work with them on permitting and financing.
