The company planning to demolish a longstanding bank in Fraser and replace it with a gas station and 24-hour fast-food eatery has sweetened its offer to the city.
A company known as 32981 Utica Road, LLC of Wexford, Pa. purchased the former State Bank of Fraser building on the southwest corner of Utica and 14 Mile roads to develop it into a Sheetz fuel center and drive-thru restaurant.
It is seeking a conditional rezoning for the property, which it purchased from National City Bank of Michigan for $1.05 million this past summer, according to assessing records.
UPDATE:
Fraser Planning Commission rejects Sheetz’s proposed 24-hour fuel center
The project will "result in a vibrant mixed us of the property at a visible intersection, restoring the life into a blighted site," Drew Miller, an agent for Sheetz, said in agenda materials.
In addition to the new business, the Wexford, Pa.-based company proposes to construct a 3,000-square-foot park overlooking a detention pond and add a historical pedestrian plaza that would include a monument to commemorate the State Bank of Fraser. The development would also alleviate storm water drainage problems the site causes to properties to the south, according to Miller.
The park would include a gravel surface, picnic tables, trash receptacles, shade trees, and ornamental plantings.
According to agenda materials, the drive-thru will have a touch-screen menu board instead of a speaker box with no exterior speakers or amplified sound to place orders that would disrupt its residential neighbors.
City officials say there are possible concerns about the proximity of the gas station to nearby homes and the preservation of a historically significant building.
Although the former bank has local historic value, it is not designated as a National Historic Preservation site, according to agenda materials. Still, the city and Fraser Historical Society would have input into the project.
Assessing records show the 11,500-square-foot building was initially constructed in 1910 and underwent a remodeling in 1975. Over the years it was occupied by the State Bank of Fraser, PNC Bank, and others.
Fraser officials say the property has been vacant for about two years. The Fraser Public Library recently considered relocating there, but the renovation costs made the project economically unfeasible, city planners said.
According to Sheetz's website, the company operates about 680 convenience stores in six states in six states, including Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The stores sell "everything from made-to-order salads to freshly baked goods to discount cigarettes," Sheetz says on the website.
The Fraser Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3 to consider rezoning two parcels of the land s from Central Business District to Commercial General. The meeting will be held at Fraser City Hall, 33000 Road at the corner of 14 Mile Road.
The city's planning consultant, McKenna, did not make a recommendation on the project to the Planning Commission. Members of the City Council will have the final say-so on the development.
Community Facebook group rallies to save Christmas for single mom
Fraser rookie police officer to eventually take over Fallen Heroes memorial from his dad
Macomb County woman claims to be a sovereign citizen during traffic stop
