A development proposal that would have resulted in 210 senior residential housing units on a 10.25-acre former elementary school property appears to have fallen by the wayside.

That’s the assessment of Brighton Community Development Director Michael Caruso. The city Planning Commission gave preliminary approval last December to the site plan of developer Pat Battaglia for a 140,000-square-foot housing project for seniors called Brighton Village at the Mill Pond. The $34 million project would have been located at the mothballed Lindbom School site at 1010 State Street. Battaglia had six months in which to come up with a final site plan for consideration. In May, he obtained a 90-day extension, but, according to Caruso, never had any contact with the city after that, and the extension expired. As a result, Caruso says the only conclusion he can come to is that Battaglia has abandoned his plans for the project, since he would have to start all over again.

The Holly developer had a similar plan in 2015 that was approved by the Planning Commission but said at the time that his financing had fallen through. Brighton City Manager Nate Geinzer tells WHMI he believes the property owner is actively looking for other developments to put on the property. Geinzer also says he doesn’t believe the underground contamination plume that runs under the Lindbom site is an insurmountable problem, saying many developers have successfully worked around issues more difficult than that with mitigation procedures.

Battaglia originally purchased the property from the Brighton Area School District at a price of $1.45 million, with plans for a charter school called the Livingston Classical Academy. However, the Brighton Board of Education declined to authorize a charter contract and the academy eventually obtained a charter from the Whitmore Lake Public Schools for a school there. (TT)