The former Calypso Mediterranean Grill restaurant on US-31 in East Bay Township is planned to be demolished to make way for a new 13-unit multifamily housing complex. Township planning commissioners will review and potentially approve the project plans tonight (Tuesday) – with the site representing one of several parcels along the corridor targeted for redevelopment by different owners.

Shamil Halabu – a Southfield attorney and licensed real estate agent who has owned and managed investment properties, according to his website – is applying for site plan approval under the name SPPEC Holdings LCC. According to Halabu’s application, he plans to demolish the Calypso building – which was listed for sale last year for $1.35 million – and build a 13-unit multifamily condominium development on the site. “Each proposed unit is three stories with a rooftop patio and a two-car garage with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms,” according to Township Director of Planning & Zoning Claire Karner.

The property is in East Bay’s Regional Business (RB) district, where multiple dwelling units are a use allowed by right. The site is within the township’s designated urban growth boundary and has access to public water and sewer, according to Karner. She notes that the existing site is mostly pavement, though 14 spruce trees dot the western property edge and are targeted for removal. Karner questioned whether the trees could be saved, but Petra Kuehnis of Mansfield Land Use Consultants – representing Halabu – said their preservation was “not practical.”

“They would impede construction operations and would likely not survive the stress of construction,” Kuehnis wrote. “We prefer to plan fresh new landscaping that will most likely be the same height as the existing spruce trees.” The landscape plan for the site calls for 85 percent native species to be used – a slight decrease from the 90 percent normally required, but Karner said that the township is reevaluating that standard and recommended planning commissioners grant a waiver to the project.

The proposed driveway to the property is planned to be reduced from 40 feet wide to 20 feet wide. The drive “is designed to accommodate pedestrians and vehicles in one space, with low traffic volumes and speeds,” according to Karner (pictured, rendering). “The developer is proposing to expand the public sidewalk to six feet in width, and there will be a connection to the TART Trail via Quality Inn.” A proposed privacy fence will encircle the property, with the home entrances oriented to the center of the site. “It is not anticipated there will be adverse impacts on any surrounding properties as a result of this proposed development,” Karner wrote.

Karner is recommending approval of the site plan application with a handful of conditions, including a maintenance agreement and reciprocal access agreement for the service drive, all necessary permits and approvals from the township (including land use permit, sign permit, and stormwater) and other authorities, and attorney review of the condominium documents. Notably, the current draft of those documents stipulates that owners can rent out their units – but not for less than 30 days at a time, precluding their use as short-term rentals.

East Bay Township recently completed a new vision and action plan for the US-31 corridor, branded as the East Bay Beach District. “There’s a huge desire for a stronger sense of identity and sense of place along that corridor,” Karner previously told The Ticker. “There are a tremendous amount of people going through the corridor and visiting it.” Amid continued expansion in the hotel sector, the corridor vision calls for diversifying uses and amenities along US-31 – including mixed-use and workforce housing. Karner wrote to planning commissioners that the Calypso property has been “vacant for years, so this proposed development will be an overall improvement to the district and the surrounding property values.”

Karner also noted that other surrounding properties are being explored for redevelopment. A parcel to the west “was approved for a 12-unit multifamily workforce housing development a few years ago, and the developer is still in the process of lining up financing,” Karner wrote. To the immediate east, ParkShore Resort’s Bryan Punturo received township approval last summer to a build a 16-unit vacation rental development next to Bayside Market. Bayside Market has also approached the township with “interest in possibly redeveloping their site to preserve the market, but also add additional stories for workforce housing,” according to Karner.

Karner said township staff have facilitated conversations with the various property owners “to see if there is an opportunity for a collaborative site plan approach with shared access.” However, those discussions have not yet “resulted in plans for meaningful coordination” to date, she said.