Former Sears building in Lincoln Park to be turned into hotel, commercial buildings
LINCOLN PARK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The former Sears building in Lincoln Park will be demolished, and commercial buildings and a hotel will be constructed in its place.
AF Jonna Development purchased the property, and the construction plan for the site includes about 110,000 square feet of retail and a four-story hotel.
According to the Brownfield Redevelopment Plan, the purpose of this project, and any brownfield redevelopment plan, is to promote the redevelopment of "brownfield" properties in the city, which redevelops blighted properties.
This will help promote economic growth and facilitate the financing of environmental response and other eligible activities at eligible properties and will also provide tax incentives to eligible taxpayers willing to invest in the revitalization of brownfield sites.
The vacant 272,000-square-foot, multi-story space will be demolished, and there will be site improvements and preparations to construct the new buildings and associated parking.
Officials say this project will help revitalize the area, as the shopping center has been vacant since its last store, Sears, closed in 2018.
The estimated private investment for this project is $14.5 million and is expected to create 80 full-time jobs and part-time positions. Open positions will include leasing, management, and maintenance staff, along with retail positions.
Demolition of the site is scheduled to begin in the fall of this year, and the project is expected to be complete by spring of 2025.
According to the Brownfield Redevelopment Plan, the space consists of 15.9 acres and contains a former retail building and an office building. The single parcel is on the northwest corner of Southfield and Toledo roads.
In addition, the plan says that the property was farmland or part of a park from about 1909 into the early 1950s, and a drain crossed along the northern boundary of the area until the 1950s.
Then, in the 1950s, a department store and ancillary auto service center were constructed. The center was expanded by 1967, and the office building by 1997.
The redevelopment plan also explains the conditions of the site and environmental contamination that happened over the years, along with eligible activities and costs and the estimated impact of tax increment financing.