Business & Tech
Guess What's Coming to Downtown Wyandotte?
Business owners in southeast Michigan plan to purchase the former Sears & Roebuck building in Downtown Wyandotte by the end of the month.
A new plan for one of Wyandotte's largest vacant buildings might make it a destination business--once again.
The building and property at 3061 and 3063 Biddle Ave. is expected to be sold to business owners Ken and Rebecca Wickenheiser on July 31.
The Wickenheisers plan to restore the faded building to its former glory by transforming it into a boutique hotel similar to their hotel in Monroe--Hotel Sterling.
Before the longtime vacant building collected dust it played a major role in Wyandotte's downtown district. Crowds of people visited Downtown Wyandotte to shop at the former Sears & Roebuck department store, which once called the building home.
Wyandotte Mayor Joseph Peterson and the Downtown Development Authority helped acquire the property in 2012 for $530,000. A portion of the cost was funded with a grant from the Downriver Area Brownfield Consortium.
The DDA plans to sell the property to the Wickenheisers for $350,000, making the initial investment for the DDA about $200,000.
The Wickehheisers have planned two phases for the project.
Phase one is expected to cost about $2.5 million. This phase is expected to be a complete exterior renovation and a conversion of the basement, and the first and second floors into 12 hotel suites, according to a DDA release. Wyandotte officials said phase one could take about 59 weeks.
The Michigan Economic Development Authority pledged nearly $500,00 toward phase one.
"We are excited to embark upon this project with the Wickenheisers," DDA Director Natalie Rankine said in the release. "Ken and Rebecca have incredible knowledge of architectural design and understanding of historic preservation."
The project is expected to get underway soon after the Wickenheisers purchase the property, with completion estimated for late 2014.
"We are excited to get started with the hotel and are pleased at all of the assistance that the City of Wyandotte has given us to help us move forward on this project," Ken Wickenheiser said in the release.
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