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Commission recommends rezoning former Saginaw fire station for Mad Concepts dining project with 65% sit-down restaurant requirement
Summary
The commission recommended approval of a text amendment and development concept to convert the former fire station at 400 Saginaw Blvd/405 Belmont into a three-tenant dining/retail site (Jake's Burgers, Split Rail, and a specialty meat market) and set a 65% primary-use threshold for sit-down restaurants; staff also allowed a conditional drive-through for Jake's under full-service or fast-casual conditions.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend changes to the Saginaw local plan to allow a dining-focused redevelopment of the former fire station at 400 Saginaw Boulevard and 405 South Belmont Street, advancing a concept presented by Mad Concepts Group.
City staff described the textual amendment and exhibit that would make sit-down restaurants the primary permitted uses on the site and introduce a set of secondary, food-oriented permitted uses (coffee shop/cafe, specialty food/gourmet market, microbrewery/winery/distillery, bakery/commercial kitchen incubator). Staff also said they would permit a drive-through for Jake's Burgers only if the establishment provided a full-service dining area with waitstaff or functioned as a fast-casual operation with service standards that differ from typical quick-service fast-food.
Applicant Cameron Hayes summarized Mad Concepts’ plan to reuse the existing fire station building for three tenants: Split Rail Texas Grill (a full-service Texas grill), a central specialty meat-market/grocer, and Jake’s Burgers (which would include a conditioned drive-through). "Jake's is... been around for about 40 years," Hayes said, describing the brand’s local footprint and the group's intent to mix family-friendly sit-down options with a specialty grocer to draw traffic to the site.
Courtney Lindley, president of Mad Concepts, emphasized the developer’s intent to preserve and enhance mature trees where possible and to activate the adjacent Veterans Park for occasional community events. "We're pro tree, pro development," Lindley said, and added the team would try to retain and enhance park space while reusing the existing building fabric.
Commissioners pressed the applicant on several technical points: whether the existing log cabin (former senior center) would be removed (applicant said it would), how drainage and historic water-flow issues would be handled (applicant said they plan to raise interior floor elevations and design drainage so water does not enter buildings or push into adjacent lots), and square-foot percentages for primary vs. secondary uses. The applicant estimated the meat market would occupy about 30–35% of the building, and commissioners ultimately approved a motion to recommend that 65% of the building be reserved for primary sit-down restaurant uses (secondary uses 35%).
What this means: The P&Z recommendation sends the amended text and concept plan to City Council for final action. Staff said exact square footage and final site/civil plans will be reviewed at the later site-plan/permit stage; council may modify the commission’s recommendation.
Next steps: The commission’s recommendation and Exhibit B will be forwarded to City Council for formal consideration; staff will supply the exact square-footage figures and site-plan civil details as the project advances.
