Posted by – Samantha Mariuz, Director of Authorities

You may have noticed something a bit different about Downtown Auburn Hills if you have traveled along Auburn Road in the last two weeks.  Recently, construction fencing went up along the perimeter of the property at the southwest corner of S. Squirrel and Auburn.  This fencing represents the first phases of construction for the new mixed-use, multifamily development “The Residences at Thirty Two 50”.

Over the last several months, a series of planning meetings transpired to bring this project to life.  In October, the property was purchased and the project was kicked into high gear.  This specific project requires environmental clean-up.  Many years ago, a gas station stood on this site.  When the station was demolished, the site was filled with material not suitable by today’s engineering standards for this new building.

The duty of the Auburn Hills Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (AHBRA) is to assist in the environmental remediation of sites, to make them redevelopment ready.  The AHBRA was an integral piece of the puzzle with The Residences at Thirty Two 50.  The Board of Directors and our consultants at AKT Peerless have provided Foremost Development Company with unprecedented assistance in the environmental remediation of this site.  Graciously, the AHBRA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are providing loans of nearly $1,000,000 to clean this site and help Downtown Auburn Hills grow and thrive!

In early spring of 2017, you will begin to see the construction of the building go vertical, and then a year later in spring of 2018, we will have many new residents moving into downtown.  The Residences at Thirty Two 50 will include 48 one and two-bedroom luxury apartments ranging from 650 to 1,031 square feet.  On the ground level there will be nearly 4,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.  Developer, Terry Baily, tells the City that he anticipates a coffee shop, a shopping boutique and a bike store.  We are all excited to have the bike store to accompany the miles of trails traversing Auburn Hills, the new apartment’s access to the Clinton River Trail as well as the Rolling in the Hills Community Bike Rides!