City of Grosse Pointe Council Denies Variance for St. John Proposal on Former Borders

City of Grosse Pointe council denied a variance request Monday by St. John Providence Health System for the former Borders building in the Village in a 5-2 vote. The healthcare system intended to buy the building, renovate and put about $5.4 million into it.

The vote drew mass exodus from the standing-room only meeting. 

At issue is the amount of devoted retail space in the proposal, which is about 15 percent. The city's zoning ordinance requires 60 percent of buildings to be retail, allowing up to 40 percent as office space.

The building at 17141 Kercheval Ave. formerly housed Borders Books, which closed in 2011 amidst bankruptcy proceedings by the now defunct Ann Arbor-based chain. It is 19,800 square-feet.

Comments from the public mainly focused on:

• the desire to maintain the building for retail or
• the ability to morph the vacant building into an occupied space 

Among the proposed plans are two small retail storefronts that would have faced Kercheval Avenue. One about 1,700 square feet and the other about 1,300 square feet. The remainder of the 19,800 square-foot building would be devoted to St. John Providence, featuring a family practice or women's focused doctor's office, a space for physical therapy, a diagnostics lab and a time share space that could be utilized for office hours by specialty doctors.

Hospital officials contend the plan would infuse the Village merchants additional foot traffic, an estimated 20,000 people a year, and offer Grosse Pointers off-site location for outpatient services. Their objective was to offer outpatient services in a setting that is smaller and more inviting than the large, urban setting of the main hospital campus at Mack an Moross. 

City planner John Jackson told council they should deny the variance. He listed a variety of reasons, among them are:

• the building offers the Village a unique retail location that other traditional downtowns, like Birmingham, do not have identifying it as "an advantage"
• residents have expressed an interest in keeping the Village retailer focused
• the precedent such a variance would set going forward for other retail spaces within the Village
• the hours of the medical office space portion of the building are not generating traffic at desirable times for merchants

Jackson also highlighted the fact that there is 17,000 square-feet inside the Kercheval Place building, the former Jacobson's, that would be suitable for medical office space. He highlighted the walkable access from the second floor of the parking garage.

Additionally, once the space is converted to medical offices, Jackson said, it's space that will never be returned to retail.

Village Association President Mike Kramer, who owns Kramer's, said to Patch Friday his fear for the location is that once it's converted it'll never again be retail. "It's not time to settle for something," he said. "To throw in the towel now because we hate vacant buildings" would be a mistake, Kramer said, describing the precedent it would set for the Village as "dangerous."

There is a lot of activity in the Village right now, Kramer said, with new businesses and restaurants opening. He believes now that retail is rebounding the building will come to house an ameanable business.

Some concern was expressed about the length of the building's vacancy. Councilman Donald Parthum said some of that time cannot be considered because of the lengthy legal proceedings happening behind-the-scenes, namely the foreclosure, which make any property unavailable for a time.

In responding to some of the concerns voiced by residents and Jackson, St. John officials explained locating on the second floor of Kercheval Place defeated the purpose of the off-site location because it would be the same feel as if patients were going to the main hospital campus. That site was considered a few years ago but quickly eliminated.

While council members repeatedly said they were happy St. John wanted to invest in the community, they questioned the scale of office versus retail and how such a decision would impact the future of the city's zoning reqiurements.

Councilwoman Jean Weipert said she has concerns about the proposal because it "blows a cannon through the zoning ordinance."

Echoing a similar thought, councilman John Stempfle said the proposal is "gutting the zoning ordinance."

Meanwhile councilman Andrew Turnbull said he is in support of the plan because he believes it will be bring more traffic to the Village and its existing retailers. The other dissenting vote came from Councilman Chris Boettcher, who said the depth of retail on any of the storefronts is really unknown to anyone walking down the street and that by having retail on Kercheval it maintains the feel. 

Before lodging their vote, the council had considerable discussion about whether the table their decision until next month after St. John Providence officials said that would have been their preference.

Attorney William D. Gilbride Jr. and President of St. John Hospital and Medical Center David T. Brooks, who is also a Grosse Pointe Farms resident, asked council to table the decision so they could address some of the feedback they gained during the public hearing. 

Ultimately, Weipert made the motion to deny the variance repeatedly reminding other council members and audience that the denial does not mean city officials are unwilling to work with the health system to reach an agreeable plan. 

Gilbride briefly addressed the council before the vote, saying if it were to be denied, St. John may file an appeal in court to preserve their rights, quickly explaining he did not intend that announcement as a threat. His comment garnered mixed reaction from council. 

Following the decision, St. John officials stood and cleared the room quickly. Brooks said he was disappointed by the decision, especially considering the healthcare system's attempt to "preserve the City's ordinance."

He and about a dozen other officials were convening in the parking lot of city hall to discuss "what, if any, options remain in Grosse Pointe."