Council asks county to review 28 N. Saginaw redevelopment, adds community benefits condition
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Summary
Pontiac City Council voted 7–0 to request Oakland County’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority review a redevelopment plan for 28 North Saginaw and adopted an amendment conditioning final city approval on a community benefits agreement addressing local priorities, jobs and a potential one‑time payment.
The Pontiac City Council unanimously asked the Oakland County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority on Nov. 25 to review a redevelopment plan for 28 North Saginaw Street and adopted an amendment requiring a community benefits agreement before the city’s final approval.
Administration staff described 28 North Saginaw as a signature downtown building that will be reactivated into roughly 114 attainable rental units with rents restricted to about 80–120% of area median income. The council approved a request that the county review the Brownfield plan; county staff is scheduled to consider the plan on Dec. 9. Economic development manager Deborah Younger said the Brownfield housing tax increment financing (TIF) would help fill financing gaps for the developer.
Pro Tem Carrington offered and won adoption of an amendment that conditions final city approval on the “implementation of a community benefits agreement that addresses community priorities, benefits and protections associated with the redevelopment project.” Councilmembers clarified the ordinance is now in effect and that the city will seek a community benefits agreement appropriate to the project’s stage; Younger said some terms will be discretionary to council and that a one‑time payment option equal to 0.5% of the project is listed in the ordinance as an enforcement mechanism.
Councilman Rutherford pressed staff about enforcement and remedies if developers fail to meet community benefit obligations; Younger and the mayor said noncompliance could result in suspension of the brownfield incentives and that any penalty would be evaluated relative to what is realistic given the project’s current progress. Younger estimated the project and its taxable benefit base at approximately $6.0–6.6 million and said a 0.5% payment would be roughly $300,000 under that frame, though she emphasized council would determine what is reasonable when the community benefits agreement returns for final action.
The resolution asking for county review passed 7–0 after council adopted the amendment. Staff said they plan to return with a proposed community benefits agreement for council consideration concurrently with the Brownfield plan after the county’s review.
What happens next: The county Brownfield authority will review the plan — staff said Dec. 9 is the county review date — and the council expects to receive a recommendation and a draft community benefits agreement for final action in a subsequent meeting.
