Saginaw Planning Commission rejects special use permit for proposed Riverfront Campus at 500 S. Hamilton

The Saginaw Planning Commission on the evening of the meeting considered special use permit PPLCM24-016, a proposal by Saginaw Valley United to redevelop 500 South Hamilton as a mixed-use Riverfront Campus combining a church, outreach ministries, a public coffee shop, a daycare component and limited top-floor residential space. After public testimony and extended commissioner discussion, the commission voted to deny the public-assembly special use on a roll call vote.

Saginaw Valley United presented the plan through Pastor Travis Thayer, who told commissioners the church would operate outreach programs including a food pantry and recovery classes, and that a coffee shop and rented commercial spaces would provide taxable income to support the project. “We’re interested in the 500 South Hamilton Building in Saginaw…we…