MANISTEE — Significant progress has been made in the renovation of the former Iron Works building in Manistee, which will house a marijuana grow facility.
The Manistee Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the extension of a special use permit for the marijuana grow facility at the property, which is owned by Ken Armour.
While the plans for the marijuana grow facility have not changed, Armour noted at the meeting that a brewery also will be housed there with the possibility of a sandwich shop and other businesses.
Armour said there is “a relatively conservative construction schedule” and that a deadline for completion of the project “is shooting for full creation in October.”Â
The person who wants to build the brewery is a current tenant of Armour; that business will be located at the front corner of the building near the former Cafe 1907.
“He’s a really good kid … he used to be the head brewer at North Channel (Brewery),” Armour said.
Though the extension for the permit for the project at 254 River St. was approved without a whole lot of discussion or concerns, the same cannot be said for the property at 314 Sibben St.Â
About an hour and 10 minutes of an hour and a half meeting were devoted to talks between the Manistee Planning Commission members and Stephen Glagola, the owner of the property.Â
The plans to convert the building into apartments were tabled by the commission. Members felt the plans that they received were not detailed enough for a vote.Â
The 6,848 square foot property is two stories and was originally constructed in the late 1880s. It has been vacant for decades. The ground floor of the building was used as a grocery store, bakery, auto parts store, and furniture and upholstery store. The second floor may have been residential; that is where Glagola plans to convert the rooms into 12 new rental units.Â
However, the original plan that went before the city council in November 2020 called for three apartments, a coffee shop, a delicatessen and a community event space by December 2022.Â
The revised plans that Glagola presented to the commission show 12 two-bedroom and two-bathroom apartments on the top floor, two one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments on the bottom floor, a coffee shop and a space for another tenant.
“There will be 16 units total but I’d like to own two of them,” Glagola said.Â
Glagola had said that the units will be apartments but may be made into condominiums.Â
However, the plans had some editing errors and left out certain details that planning commission members were looking for, including a brownfield plan, a more simple environmental assessment and a more detailed exterior lighting plan. Â
“The idea is really good, and we need the rooms and everything. I would just like to see a lot more detailed plans,” Commissioner Pamela Weiner said.Â
Other commissioners also said they liked the idea and that someone has set out to renovate the building, but that they needed more information before they could approve a plan.
“That building has always been an eyesore as long as I’ve frequented that area. Having a coffee shop — that’s aces in my book. And to help start to clean up the old trunk line — fantastic. It’s great. But I believe we need to see more detailed plans,” Manistee Planning Commission Chair Mark Wittlieff said.Â
“We’re not saying that this project will not go, (but) there’s more information we need here,” he continued.
Since the issue was tabled, it will either be discussed at a special meeting or at the next Manistee Planning Commission meeting.Â
A recording of the meeting can be found at https://manisteetv.com/ . The next planning commission meeting will be on April 7 at 7 p.m. in council chambers at Manistee City Hall.Â
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