Wyandotte - Work begins on Wyandotte's Good Eats Grill and Cafe loft

metromode, 10/29/2009

Work has begun on the loft apartment above the Good Eats Cafe and Grille in downtown Wyandotte.

"We're ploughing ahead with it," says owner Leo Stevenson.

Stevenson also owns the 2-story building at 125 Elm St. and has been restoring it over the last year. He considered the second floor space, which was vacant for years, obsolete even though it once served as a law office.

That changed when the city approved a new Neighborhood Enterprise Zone for the entire downtown. That allows property owners to pay only 17 mills of taxes on new space built on a second floor or higher, instead of the normal 48 mills. There is no new tax assessment for improving existing upper floors.

This came when the market bottom fell out for upper floor commercial space in small downtowns like Wyandotte. At the same time, downtown apartments have become increasingly popular, prompting Stevenson to turn the 1,500 square feet into a two-bedroom apartment.

Source: Leo Stevenson, owner of the Good Eats Cafe and Grill building
Writer: Jon Zemke

Downtown Living , Government , Redevelopment , Wayne County

Wyandotte