210-unit housing complex proposed for former Brighton school

Two attempts in the last several years to bring life back to the shuttered Lindbom Elementary School site in Brighton fell through. 

But developer Pat Battaglia, principle of Holly-based BVMP Development Group, LLC, said he's ready to try again. 

Battaglia plans to build a new 210-unit senior housing complex on the site of the former school at 1010 State Street in the city.

The proposal, Brighton Village at the Mill Pond, would use the existing building and include additional buildings on the site. 

If approved by city officials, the senior housing complex would be somewhere between 120,000 and 140,000 square feet. It would feature independent living units, assisted living units, a memory care center and an activities center, according to site plans Battaglia submitted to the city. 

"I was the one who proposed a charter school there. ...and this is basically the same proposal for a senior center as before," Battaglia said. "I think the timing is good and the economy is solid."

The Brighton Area School District closed the elementary school in 2010 due to budget issues.

One of Battaglia's previous plans was to build a $30 million senior housing complex that would have been called Arcadia Village of Brighton.

But he said that plan fell through a couple years ago due to problems getting it financed.

"And at the time, the city was pushing pretty hard to impose about $2 million in offsite improvements in that deal. ...They wanted us to invest in rehabbing streets," Battaglia said. "That was way too imposing."

He declined to say how much Brighton Village at the Mill Pond would cost to build. 

In 2015, his Fenton-based development company American Classical Academy Brighton Holdings LLC purchased the former school building for $1.45 million. 

The original plan was to house Livingston Classical Academy, a charter school, in the former school. But those plans stalled when the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education voted not to consider a request for a charter. 

"We were hoping to partner with Brighton Area Schools, but it didn't happen," Battaglia said. "Some board members were against the project, so that killed the deal."

Livingston Classical Academy ended up obtaining a charter from Whitmore Lake Public Schools and is now located in downtown Whitmore Lake. 

Cheryl Krueger, who lives near the shuttered school, said a group of concerned neighbors plan to attend a Monday night meeting of the city's Planning Commission to voice concerns. 

The air inside several homes in the neighborhood was found to have elevated levels of a potentially deadly toxin trichloroethylene earlier this year. The chemical plume originated at a decades-old manufacturing site at 525 N. Fifth St. north of the former school.

"Many of us in the neighborhood remain very concerned about how the chemical plume dangers will be handled, the level of intrusion into an area of single-story homes, as well as several other valid concerns," Krueger said. 

Battaglia said he is working with engineers and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials "to put in any preventative measures to neutralize that completely, and we feel confident we'll be able to mitigate any potential gases."

Brighton City Manager Nate Geinzer said planning and city officials will have to consider whether the proposed senior center fits into the city's vision for that neighborhood.

The city is in the process of updating its master plan for future land use, and a draft envisions the former school site for lower-density housing than Battaglia proposes. 

"I think the master plan is pretty clear and well thought out," Geinzer said. "Single family housing and also what is called cottage courts, those are stacked housing. ... but obviously, this is a private property owner who has his own vision for the site and the Planning Commission will have to decide how much they will allow someone to deviate."

The city's planning commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed senior housing complex at 7 p.m. Monday. 

"It will be a public hearing on a preliminary proposal for a planned unit development, which will include the site plan, design and rezoning," Brighton Community Development Associate Brandon Skopek said. "If the planning commission approves it, there will also be a final site plan review process."

The land, which is currently zoned for single-family homes, would need to be rezoned. 

"The market is going to determine what will be best suited for that site," Skopek said. "We've seen this proposal in the past and we have a senior living facility under construction on Rickett road, so there seems to be a market for it."

Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Timar at 517-548-7148 or at jtimar@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Facebook @Jennifer.Timar99 and Twitter @JenTimar99.