Port Huron Township mulling over sale of Lions Club park off Water Street

A Port Huron Township property that’s home to a Lions Club building, an aging playground, and a small waterfront access could become home to a new fuel stop with a convenience store and two restaurants.

But first, township officials want time to mull over a recent offer before deciding to sell.

During Monday’s regular meeting, the township board heard from two proprietors, Ammar Dalou and Sam Akkari, who have three fuel facilities in northern Macomb County, with help from commercial real estate broker Jason Francek, a senior associate for Pilot Property Group.

Francek said the duo hoped to install a fuel or travel station at the narrow park property, 2270 Water St., servicing both gas and diesel for cars and trucks. A proposed market would be bookended by the restaurants, including one with a drive-thru.

The offer was originally subject to a letter of interest that the township board agreed to formally reject a few weeks ago. However, when asked in follow up, Port Huron Township Supervisor Bob Lewandowski said they were to hear the developers’ plans as they were willing to incorporate the preservation of community members’ access to the park area where Stocks Creek splits off the Black River just north of Interstate 94 and 69.

“The Lions Club park has been utilized by the community for a long time, and we want to actually enhance that with some more seating. And the toboggan hill ain’t going nowhere,” Francek said. “That’s a good thing. The buyers are also open to potentially a kayak, canoe rental — something at the mouth of the property that abuts the river. They’re open because they do believe that allowing the community to have access to the park will only benefit them more, and then, also having the market for food items where the area’s a little bit underserved, that citizens can come in (for) both prepared food and grocery items.”

Dalou said they’re planning to put in an 8,800-square-foot building on the front half of the property. That includes a roughly 5,600-square-foot store.

“In front, we’re planning to put a fueling center for cars, and in the back, for trucks. And then, behind that, we’re going to maintain the park that’s there,” he said. “(What) remains is going to stay. We’ll have benches if people want to come and eat, take food to the restaurant, eat there, whatever they want.”

Dalou said they’re also planning roughly 20 parking spaces to accommodate visitors and a couple of charging hookups for electric vehicles, depending on demand, as well as separate entrances for trucks and cars for safety reasons.

Without a commitment to sell, they weren’t sure yet what restaurant franchises could open up on site.

When asked, Dalou added their existing stations were on 23 Mile Road near Baker Road in Chesterfield, one on Gratiot Avenue just north of downtown Mount Clemens, and another at 15 Mile Road and Groesbeck Highway in Clinton Township.

Port Huron Township officials voted unanimously to table discussion and to consider a formal offer at an upcoming meeting.

Currently, the area near the township park, where Water Street crosses the interstate, is subject for other development, particularly of the refurbishment of the former township RV park as the Dancing Fire Glamping and RV Resort, as well as new ownership of the marina across the street.

The 2270 Water St. address is listed on Google and Facebook for the Port Huron Host Lions Club. Steve Schultz, the club’s president, said they lease the associated building from the township.

“And that building, I’d say, on average is used probably three times a week, probably four,” he said Wednesday. “It’s got a lot of use. It’s rented out almost every weekend for parties and banquets, graduations and receptions and wakes, you name it. We use it for our meetings. The Boy Scouts districts use it for their meetings. … We have a recovery group that uses it.”

When asked about a potential sale, Schultz said he’d hope they’d be able to continue to utilize the property under the township or new owners, but that he understood “the township’s got to do what the township’s got to do.”

Some township officials said they understood the instinct among some residents to save the park, but multiple referenced the occasional report of transient or homeless individuals who frequent the area or break into the Lions Club building. Schultz said he recalled one breakin to the building beforet some improvements were made, and they haven’t seen any problems since last spring.

“We’ve got vagrants on the end. I don’t have a problem with (the developers' park idea); I like the idea of reserving it down there. But you’ve got to do something with development,” said Trustee Steve Riehl. “If these people want to do something or anybody else wants to do something, upgrade that area and still save what we’ve got and still put some money into the township, put some taxes, it’s going to help benefit (the community). … I’m not saying this is the answer, but I think we need to look forward as the township board in some way to bring in revenue, and if it helps, it helps, if it doesn’t, then we do something.”

The township board meets at 7 p.m. the first and third Monday of each month.

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

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Port Huron Township mulling over sale of Lions Club park off Water Street