Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A big redevelopment project roughly four years in the making is coming to downtown Howell.

The Jadan Center will be located at the site of a former Sunoco gas station off Grand River and Court Street.

City Council recently approved a Brownfield Redevelopment Plan, a reimbursement agreement, and a 3rd party evaluation involving environmental consulting services for the project. It’s a tax break for cleaning up a contaminated site.

The City has been working with Robert Jadan, the owner of the property at 303 East Grand River, since mid-2022 to bring a mixed-use redevelopment project to the site. Plans include demolishing the existing one-story building and constructing a new three-story mixed-use building enveloping Grand River and Court Street.

The redevelopment site is a former gas station and auto repair facility on a 0.41-acre property located on the southeast corner of E. Grand River and Court Street, consisting of two parcels.

The proposed development includes demolition of an existing building, construction of a new three-story mixed-use building with 14,537-square-foot ground floor, the potential for eight commercial spaces on the ground floor, 24 upper-story housing units with balconies, a rooftop garden, new curbs/sidewalks, and streetscape elements.

It was clarified during the meeting the project will not be what’s considered “affordable housing”, as was originally planned.

The Brownfield Plan is the result of the past two years of planning. It would allow the developer to capture the tax increment created by the development for a period of 24 years to pay back eligible expenses. Eligible expenses for the project include several administrative categories, demolition activities, lead and asbestos abatement, interest on the bank loans, and payment to the State of Michigan Brownfield Redevelopment Fund, along with several smaller items.

It was noted during the meeting the Planning Commission already received approvals with some conditions so the project can go ahead regardless, and Council was only approving the Brownfield items.

Whan asked about a timeline; Robert Jadan told Council his builder partners estimate two years, so realistically, he’s planning on three.

Mayor Nikolas Hertrich told WHMI the project has been in the works for many years and it’s exciting – noting all of the hard work from the Planning Commission, Brownfield Committee, and others.

Resident and Former City Councilman Doug Heins spoke during a public hearing on the topic. He said it’s an attractive project but raised continued concerns about parking - suggesting the City hold off until an impact study is done on residential and retail parking needs downtown.

Planners commented the project is consistent with the downtown corridor and it’s a great redevelopment for that site. It was stated that on a staff and city level, they have been talking about larger parking strategies.