Houghton Council Rezones One Parcel, Purchases Another

The Houghton City Council was in real estate mode last night.

Councilors approved a request from Hope Fellowship Church to rezone a portion of the land it owns on West Sharon Avenue.

The parcel abuts the land Meijer has purchased as a potential new store site. Changing the zoning from Single Family Residential to General Business could open the door for the church to sell that parcel to Meijer.

City Manager Eric Waara told the council that Meijer has not yet announced a start date or timetable for building a store.

The Council also purchased a home at 306 Quincy Street for $5,000.

Councilor Buck Foltz explained that the house there has deteriorated beyond repair. Purchasing it now will save the city and the owners from going through the long, more expensive legal process of condemning it.

The house will be demolished. 

Waara told councilors that the city is also stepping up the effort to find a new location for its own offices.

The commercial tenant on the upper floors of the City Center has made a formal offer to purchase the building. Waara said a number of options have been discussed. The former Kirkish building at the west edge of downtown has been ruled out because of insufficient parking.

One option would be to build a new city and police department headquarters and a parking structure adjacent to the current City Center.

In other notes from last night’s meeting, city crews are working on replacing a culvert on the Nara Trails that washed out during the Father’s Day Flood. They hope to complete the project next week, enabling that portion of the trail to reopen this winter. City workers are also installing lights in the restrooms below the Houghton-Hancock Bridge.