Algonac officials, residents weigh ideas to redevelop old elementary school

ALGONAC — For seven years, residents and officials in Algonac had little say about the vacant school property at the center of town.

But after one public idea session this week and 130 comments with input submitted since January, a clear picture of how the 69,000-square-foot, 3.2-acre site — newly under the city’s ownership — could potentially be redeveloped is starting to take shape.

“I think there’s a way to accomplish multiple goals with this property other than just a community center, just housing, or something else,” resident Jeremy Kaleniecki said during the session Tuesday.

More than 40 filled the seating in the city’s meeting room, spit-balling community needs and a wish list of uses for the old school, 1216 St. Clair Blvd., for roughly an hour with City Council members.

Nearly all appeared to agree they didn’t want to demolish the property — something City Manager Denice Gerstenberg said had once been estimated to cost between $350,000 and $500,000. Attendees also agreed they wanted to keep the school’s gymnasium and cafeteria for community use in partnership with a private developer to repurpose the rest of the property, including former classroom space.

“Ultimately, it’s going (to come down) to tax revenue,” Kaleniecki said. “I hate to put it like that. But if it’s just (for) the community, the burden falls on the community to maintain it. Right? So, there’s got to be a way to mix use of this property to bring in some businesses, bring in some tax revenue to help pay so we can at least negate the cost of maintenance and maybe make some profit. I think for the building itself, it’d be worth an evaluation as far as salvageability and grants for salvaging.”

Algonac city officials agreed.

Councilwoman Dawn Davey said it seemed “like the best of both worlds,” benefiting the community and the city with new tax revenue. As it is, Gerstenberg said the school generates about $3,400 a year.

Moving forward, officials said they hoped to keep up the dialogue with residents, as city administration digs deeper into options.

Councilman Michael Bembas said whatever they do, it’ll cost money. Citing the gym and cafeteria for a community center-type use as an example, he said, “Somebody’s got to run it.”

“Our budget is very slim as it is,” Bembas said. “… Are we willing to pay that extra money every year even if it means a little bit more in taxes to do these wonderful things that we’re hearing? I would hope the answer’s yes. Just keeping it real. Fire pits cost money. Maintaining fire pits costs money. Running a rec center costs money. Please, keep that in mind.”

How did we get here? And were there ideas that wouldn't work?

The school building has sat unused and empty at the city’s center since it closed in 2015, purchased months later under Bach Enterprise, whose agent originally brought in Woodside Bible Church as a potential occupant for the site. After pushback from residents, the church welcomed its local congregation elsewhere in the area, and two years later, the school property was transferred to the real estate arm of the Georgia-based, National Christian Foundation.

More recently, without any final plans identified by the foundation, the city of Algonac began to refocus on the school, commissioning a development analysis in 2021 and receiving those results in 2022. The 29-page summary broke down potential concepts for the property, including residential developments under its then-zoning that’d require razing the school structure and other mixed-use commercial or multi-family builds with parking lots, business, an auditorium, and fitness amenities.

On Tuesday, Gerstenberg said that study was originally meant to entice a private developer.

At the end of 2022, the city updated the area’s zoning and introduced an overlay district to help make it more developer-ready. Last year, council members agreed to participate in an auction of the building ending in November, successfully picking it up for $165,000 and closing on it in December.

Officials had said they wanted to help determine the property’s fate, though ahead of the auction, Gerstenberg recalled on Tuesday, “Private investors were saying that the cost to develop it was just too high.”

As part of the feedback process, the city administrator said building a new city pool separate from the grant-funded effort at Lions Field or moving city facilities were among the unlikely ideas for the old school site.

As were an outdoor mall or shopping area with condos, which she called cost prohibitive, and a resort hotel with a waterpark or casino. “There is no room for these options,” she said.

Gerstenberg said most of the write-in ideas were community-oriented, too.

There were calls for outdoor uses, including a garden, covered pavilion, a market, something with fire pits, a plaza, an inflatable park, or a workout space. Indoor suggestions ranged from a boarding facility for pets and child care center to an art center, business incubator, retail shops, or a year-round flea market.

“We have retail and commercial space open now, and no big or small businesses (have been) in a hurry to fill them,” Gerstenberg said. She added the school would also have a visibility issue, being too far from M-29, for some commercial operations, and that the area may be too impacted by online shopping.

Technical trades education and things for kids to do?

Resident Tim Carr, of Motor City Marine Consultants, advocated for something for kids on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to address the “big shortage in trades.” He said he thought the city could partner with existing school programs or tap into other resources to turn part of the school into a technical training center.

Although he thought it’d be nice to capitalize on Algonac’s history in the boat manufacturing industry, he said the need for trades was also much bigger, adding, “Everything’s fiberglass now, and it costs a ton of money. But boat building is a trade. Auto body is a trade. Electrical. All that stuff, there’s shortages.”

Kaleniecki said a lot of tech training happens in-house for technical companies when the cost of those education programs begins to outweigh its worth. He said a trades school “may not be suitable for that property.”

Still, he thought they could get creative, bringing smalltown makers, small restaurants, or food trucks to invest in the mixed-use of the site.

Others agreed but thought at least some of that should be more focused on the youth. “It’s all about kids, too. We have nothing here,” said John Highstreet, a local pastor.

Multiple officials and residents said they needed to gauge feedback from youths themselves, inquiring about going through Algonac Community Schools to survey interest. Highstreet, also a school board member, said it was possible.

Some said there were ways to accommodate kids activities, while also utilizing the school’s community spaces for things that could also drum up revenue, such as tournaments for increasingly popular wrestling programs and other sports events.

Residents asked if the city needed to get a better idea of the needed repairs in the school to determine if that’d affect any potential development.

Mayor Rocky Gillis said the gym floor had been replaced in 2011, wasn’t wood, and appeared to be in good condition. Gerstenberg said a building official and architect have been through the building, agreeing it was structurally sound “and can be renovated."

“A few of us, we walked through the building with county officials and a couple contractors,” said Councilman Raymond Martin. “… Contractors thought the old shop area on the south side was not good and questioned the classrooms, but the gym area looks sturdy.”

Council members agreed more discussion would arise at future meetings. Regular council meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month at city hall, 805 St. Clair River Drive.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Algonac officials, residents weigh ideas to redevelop old school