County may extend $250,000 loan period to Eddy redevelopment by a year

A $250,000 loan St. Clair County issued to boost the Eddy Center redevelopment in St. Clair is set to expire in July, but the site’s administrators may be getting another year to pay it off.

And according to Rob Drewek, one of the project’s principles, building improvements made to the old elementary school, 301 N. Ninth St., in anticipation of a new YMCA daycare facility is a big reason why.

“The YMCA was the biggest driver from the project going from senior housing,” Drewek said Wednesday in reference to initial plans that were dropped more than a year ago. “That was kind of the goal original in the back there. And when the YMCA approached us looking for space, they took a good portion of that building.  … Because of that, we ended up having to extend and reconfigure the parking lot so that they would have access in the back. There’s a whole other parking lot that we constructed in the rear of the building.”

The county’s board of commissioners signed off on the loan to Eddy Development LLC in June 2021.

Earlier that year, the county’s land bank authority entered into a purchase agreement with East China Schools to purchase Eddy, as well as Gearing Elementary and additional property adjoining the two. Gearing still functions as a school in St. Clair, and the move-out date remains to be determined.

Tenants began moving into Eddy by the end of 2021 with a host of businesses and groups now occupying space and a few classrooms still available.

A daycare facility to be run by the YMCA of the Blue Water Area has been in the works for months, though the agency hasn’t publicly named an opening date.

Drewek said there’d been a delay in state licensing, and that the Y had already made interior improvements to the site itself — be it flooring or fixtures conducive to a daycare — with signage for Warm World Childcare and Education Center posted at several sites around Eddy, directing vehicles to entrances at the back of the building.

YMCA CEO Josh Chapman said on Wednesday that they've been approved for licensure but awaited official documentation before setting a go-live date in June.

In a letter to county officials, Drewek wrote that the majority of the Eddy project had been brought out of the land bank.

“During the last two years, we have come a long way toward finishing the first phase of this long-term project,” he wrote. “… It is our intention to wrap up our construction financing upon the rent commencement from the YMCA center. However, due to delays in licensing from the state of Michigan, the YMCA center is about one year behind their anticipated opening date. Also, as part of the lease agreement, we also provided them with a substantial free rent period after the opening of their facility.”

Drewek later said he expected the property to come on the tax rolls soon. He could not recall how long the free rent period was.

County commissioners were slated to discuss the loan extension at their committee meetings on Thursday and consider approval at a meeting this month. By extending its period by 12 months from the due date of July 31 this year, the interest rate increases from 3% to 5%.

The board meetings are on the first and third Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the county administrative building, 200 Grand River Ave., in Port Huron.

Agenda materials can be found at http://publicagenda.stclaircounty.org.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.