Committee advances Old Saint Jean tax‑abatement request to formal review

The committee advanced a request from Old Saint Jean Properties LLC for an industrial facilities exemption certificate for 521 Old Saint Jean in Detroit, voting to send the item to formal with a recommendation to approve after staff and developer presentations and public comment.

Justice Cook of the Housing and Revitalization Department and Alton Williams of DEGC presented underwriting and fiscal impacts for the proposed project, describing a roughly $2.49 million rehabilitation of a vacant manufacturing facility into about 37,000 square feet of manufacturing, office and storage space. Williams said the assessor confirmed the project meets eligibility requirements and staff recommended a 12‑year certificate. “This abatement provides a reduction on the future increase in property taxes as a result of significant improvements,” Williams said during the presentation.

Developer Brian Hertian said the site will serve as the developer’s headquarters and a manufacturing center for panelized home components; he also said the team plans to lease space to Ecolvia Renewables, which the developer said is relocating its headquarters from Ann Arbor to Detroit. Hertian described traditional wood‑framed manufacturing processes and said the project aims to reduce construction timelines and costs while creating local employment opportunities. “We are doing our manufacturing of housing components in a very traditional manner, wood studs, wood framing,” Hertian said.

Staff and materials in committee packets projected the property currently pays about $28,000 a year in taxes. After the improvements, first‑year taxes were projected at just under $50,000, with an abated portion of roughly $21,000; staff reported the total estimated value of the 12‑year certificate at about $2,276,919 and estimated the project would create 12 tenant jobs and 10 temporary construction jobs.

During public comment, callers asked for additional disclosures and raised neighborhood concerns: one caller questioned whether staff or consultants had connections to an earlier North End Landing project, another asked whether hazardous materials would be stored in the building, and a third pressed about hiring practices and whether returning citizens and majority‑Black hires would be prioritized. Hertian replied that he had presented to Jefferson East Inc. and denied involvement in North End Landing, said the biotech tenant is not a hazardous‑materials company, and said the developer would welcome returning citizens and hoped to involve high school and community college students in the facility’s workforce.

Council Member Leticia Johnson moved to send the item to formal with a recommendation to approve; the chair recorded no objections and the motion carried. The committee closed the 11:05 public hearing on the certificate and referred the matter to formal consideration, where it will appear with staff recommendations and packet materials.