By Jim Newell
Review Editor
The Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors approved the purchase agreement for two lots on S. Slater Street from the Lake Orion United Methodist Church for $275,000, plus closing costs, during a special board meeting on Thursday.
The DDA board also agreed to a $500,000 loan from the Village of Lake Orion, which was previously approved and offered by the village council on May 13, for parking improvements. The DDA would repay the loan at two-and-a-half percent over six years beginning on October 2020.
The DDA will use the funds to purchase the lots, demolish the houses currently on the lots and construct the parking lots, which will likely be designated for downtown business employee parking, said Village Manger Joe Young and DDA Executive Director Molly LaLone.
The properties are at 52 S. Slater, for $115,000, and 104 S. Slater, for $160,000, for a total of $275,000, according to purchase agreement documents from the DDA.
The village estimates that construction of the lots will add another 40 spaces for employee parking, alleviating congestion in other lots for customers.
The DDA passed a motion at their May 14 meeting to purchase two properties subject to two contingencies: an easement from the Orion Township Fire Department being granted by Orion Township and a shared parking agreement with the church for their two existing parking lots.
The DDA does not yet have an easement agreement from the lots on Slater Street through to Anderson Street. The proposed walkway would have gone through on the north side of the Orion Township Fire Department’s Station 1 on Anderson Street, between the fire station and Orion Music Studio.
Fire Chief Rob Duke, however, is opposed to an easement, citing safety concerns of pedestrians crossing in front of the fire station when the fire department receives a call, said Supervisor Chris Barnett, who sits on the DDA board.
The DDA is currently negotiating with Orion Music Studio for an easement through that property, LaLone said.
Shared Parking Agreement
The village council on Monday also passed 7-0 a shared parking agreement to use the Lake Orion United Methodist Church’s two existing parking lots. The DDA will now pay the Lake Orion United Methodist Church $1,200 annually for use of the church lot on S. Anderson Street (19 spaces) and the other on S. Slater Street.
The deal, however, comes with limited hours for public use – only from 6 a.m. on Thursdays through midnight on Saturdays. During all other hours the lots would be solely for church parking.
The DDA currently has shared parking agreements with several area businesses, including The Lake Orion Review, The Event Place, Caruso Chiropractic and JS Capitol, for use of the lot on the corner of Anderson and Flint streets. The village and DDA are in negotiations with other downtown businesses, such as PNC Bank and AutoZone, to enter into shared parking agreements.