St. Joseph Charter Township trustees are preparing to vote Monday evening on a special use proposal for development of the former Nye’s Apple Barn property on Niles Avenue near Exit 27 on I-94.
The new development plan calls for a mixed-use project that includes a gas station/convenience store, a restaurant, and multi-level apartments. Similar to previous plans, the new proposal has drawn vocal opposition from nearby residents.
Neighboring High Wood Estates Homeowners Association President Brandon Crowder said he will be at Monday night’s meeting because his group opposes the scale of commercial activity being proposed.
“We feel… the owner of the property has not responded in an appropriate way to some of the feedback that he has received from the actual public bodies and municipal bodies in this case, as well as the feedback from the community themselves. The commercial uses have actually in some ways expanded. And we believe that this is going to provide a detrimental influence on this community,” said Crowder.
Crowder said the neighborhood is most concerned about added traffic and other quality-of-life impacts. A traffic study conducted in 2021 projected a 60 percent increase in vehicle flow along Niles Avenue if the plan moves forward. Crowder says a similar proposal was rejected by the township board last year, and he expects trustees to reach the same decision on Monday.
“The last time that this was voted on in a final vote fashion was in May of 2023, in which case the Township Board voted unanimously six to zero to reject the request. So currently we have no reason to think otherwise, since the proposal is so similar to that of the proposal that was rejected unanimously in 2023,” said Crowder.
Property owner John Nye has testified that this is a suitable use for the property.
“It’s a wonderful place in my mind for the apartments, and they’re needed,” Nye said.
Nye pointed to Michigan Supreme Court precedent that a landowner can quash a zoning ordinance by showing it is unreasonable or confiscatory. Local economic development group Cornerstone Alliance has thrown its support behind Nye’s planned development saying it would support workforce housing needs and add to the area’s tax base.
The meeting of the St. Joseph Charter Township trustees to consider and potentially vote on the special use Nye Property plan is set for Monday at 6 p.m.
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Image above: Black River Flats apartments to represent what is proposed for Nye’s Apple Barn redevelopment.
