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Politics & Government

Township Gives Developer Time to Find Funds for Senior Housing

West Bloomfield trustees vote to extend the deadline to finance and finalize plans for All Seasons of West Bloomfield, a senior housing project.

Owing to continued financial difficulties, the West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees has extended the deadline for a developer to turn a decrepit building into senior housing.

At their Monday meeting at , trustees voted to extend developer Beztak Co.'s Planned Unit Development (PUD) by 2 1/2 years — allowing time for the lending market to get better and Beztak to get its plans in order for All Seasons of West Bloomfield, a proposed 125-unit senior independent living facility.

The development, which was the first to be approved in West Bloomfield, was OK'd in April 2009 and set to expire in June.

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Beztak project manager Mark Highlen said things are looking better on the financial front, but there are other concerns as well.

“While we’re noticing some improvement in the lending market, we still have to complete our construction plans before we can break ground,” he said Monday. “We’d like at least a year for the financing to come in place and a year to finish our construction plans and permitting.”

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He assured the trustees that All Seasons is a high-priority job for Beztak because of the good market prospects for senior housing and the company wants to turn the property into a paying concern.

Sara Roediger, senior planner for the township, said the township granted the extension for Beztak in order to give the project a chance to come to fruition. She said the choice came down to extending the plan or seeing the whole project disappear.

“If the PUD expires, the plan is dead,” Roediger said. “We recognize the need for senior housing in the township, and they want to build it. “

The township would like to see the property, the former U.S. Blades building and now a vacant warehouse on Drake Road south of Walnut Lake Road, developed as soon as possible. The township would like to have the building knocked down, but the developer has to secure funding for that part of the project as a part of its general construction loan.

Monday, Highlen reassured trustees that the site would remain patrolled, clean and well-lighted while the company seeks favorable financing. Township Treasurer Teri Weingarden reminded the board of the benefits the township will reap in the meantime.

“I understand (the property) will be used by the police department and fire department for training,” she said. “(They’ll use it for) a controlled burn. It’s an interesting resource for us to use before demolition.”

Roediger said the township board only recently started to grant extensions to construction projects that had been approved but not started. The board amended the township’s ordinances to allow site plans to be extended up to two times at one year per extension.

The change in policy is because developers have had a harder-than-usual time securing financing in the current down economy, Roediger said. There are no set guidelines for granting extensions to site plans or PUDs, she added.

The trustees scheduled the developer to return Dec. 31, 2012, to update them on the project’s status.

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