By: Deborah Johnson Wood
At eight stories, the former Comerica Bank building in downtown Muskegon is the city's original "skyscraper." A proposed $4 million renovation will soon transform it into a mixed-use development with a rooftop deck and 36 condominiums priced under $200,000—24 in the existing building, and 12 in a three-story addition.
Developer Jon Rooks of Parkland Properties of West Michigan has a purchase agreement for the building and two adjacent lots. Preliminary plans call for a restaurant or bank on the main level of the existing building, office space on the second floor, and condos above.
The addition will have 12,000-square-feet of main floor retail space with condos on the second and third floors. Amenities include a rooftop pool, Jacuzzi, and outdoor lounge for residents of both buildings.
"Each floor of the existing structure will have four corner condos with two walls of expanded windows with new balconies," Rooks says. "On every floor, three of the units have unbelievable views of Muskegon Lake. The fourth has views of the cityscape and the rooftop pool."
Rooks will keep as much of the historic 1918 building as possible, including the curved granite staircase and metalwork, and the giant round vault doors.
The building sits amid the city's largest Renaissance Zone, which was to expire in 2015. Last Tuesday, the city commission voted unanimously to extend it to 2022.
"This is just a small piece of a large overhaul of the downtown area," Rooks says. "When you go there it's an amazing footprint of a new and improved downtown."
Source: Jon Rooks, Parkland Properties of West Michigan, LLC
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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