The board’s agenda included a public hearing and vote on approval of the Mellencamp Building brownfield plan. The developer is buying and rehabbing three vacant buildings in downtown Ypsilanti at 120, 122 and 124 W. Michigan Ave., between Huron and Washington, and converting them to residential and commercial space. The $2.2 million project is seeking brownfield status as a “functionally obsolete” property, which will make it eligible for Michigan Business Tax credits. The project is expected to bring 30 new residents and 25 new jobs to Ypsilanti.
Those two buildings, known to longtime Ypsilanti residents as Mellencamps until that landmark store closed in the 1980s, later were Nobles men’s clothing store. They’re notable for the metal siding that covers the fronts of the buildings, including the second-floor windows. “They’re in just horrible shape,” Maurer said. Downstairs, remnants of the clothing store remain, as do signs of updating over the decades, like ceiling tiles that cover tin ceilings. Upstairs appears untouched for decades, with open beams and water-damaged floors.
