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 plan on investing in the community,” Thayer said during the applicant presentation.

Supporters said the project would add neighborhood services. Candace Thayer, a church member who said she intends to move into the riverfront area, told the commission the campus could help attract young families and provide needed daycare. “If we’re trying to attract different people and young families into the riverfront community…a daycare could be a wonderful thing,” she said.

Opponents — including property owners and long‑time Old Town business operators — argued the proposal conflicts with the city’s riverfront mixed‑use (RMU) zoning and could harm ongoing commercial and residential investment nearby. Alex De Perry, an Old Town property owner, said the plan does not match the RMU district’s intent to promote intense pedestrian-oriented shopping and merchandising. Paul Barrera, an Old Town restaurateur and business owner, told the commission the proposal was “not a proper and desirable use” for riverfront property and warned of traffic, service duplication and risks to property values.

Commissioners raised similar concerns in their deliberations, citing the RMU district’s stated goals and the proposal’s breadth and vagueness. Commissioner Clark said the plan contains many items that “aren’t very clear” and does not appear to fit the subcategories the zoning map reserves for commercial and residential development along the riverfront. Commissioner Faust questioned the project’s finances and operational capacity, asking whether the applicant had the roughly $1.7 million cost the applicant had discussed; Pastor Thayer said the church has some funds and would seek donors and staged investments.

The commission debated a motion to postpone consideration (one proposal would have set a return date of Feb. 25), but the postponement motion failed. The commission then took a roll-call vote on the motion to approve the special land use; the motion failed after a majority of commissioners voted no, citing incompatibility with adjacent uses, parking and safety concerns and the need for more specificity or conditions.

Because the vote was on the special‑use assembly portion, commissioners noted that conditions could be imposed in future applications if an approval were sought. The applicant may revise the proposal and reapply or pursue a different site; no formal approval or conditions were adopted tonight.

The commission also approved its 2025 meeting calendar later in the session.