ESCANABA — A new assisted living and memory care facility is one step closer to being built in Escanaba after the city council approved plan for the project.

The Parkview Assisted Living facility will include a 26,145 square foot home for the aged, consisting of both assisted living and memory care units, as well as a garage and 17 cottage duplexes. The cottages will total 34 units, for seniors who are able to live independently.

The main building and two of the duplexes are expected to be constructed in 2021 with the remainder of the cottages to be constructed in the future.

“We’re excited, obviously, for the approval, and the next phase after this is getting approval from DEQ/EGLE, and that should be finished sometime mid-summer, and we’re hoping to break ground mid- to late-summer if everything goes well,” said Daryl Miron, who is developing the property and is also the president of Lakeview Assisted Living in Gladstone.

Miron’s existing assisted living facility was a major influence on the council. Each council member and City Manager Patrick Jordan expressed they were either personally impressed by Lakeview Assisted Living or had heard good things about the facility and its care.

“The manager and I a month or so ago toured Mr. Miron’s similar facility in… I forgot the name of the town — oh, Gladstone,” said Council Member Ralph Blasier, making a small jab at the neighboring city. “The level of quality of his building and the level of quality of his furnishing it is top drawer. I mean, it’s like a mansion. Fireplaces everywhere and high ceilings and good furniture, and I’m not sure what else to say, it’s just absolutely first rate.”

The only change made to the project during Thursday’s meeting was the addition of four-foot-wide sidewalks, at the request of Mayor Marc Tall. The council also agreed to direct the planning commission to reevaluate a rule in the city’s code of ordinances on the size of building canopies to allow for a larger one to be constructed as included in the plan.

The project is part of a planned unit development, a special zoning designation used for developments that don’t fit the current zoning but are in areas where changing the current zoning could be problematic if the project

were never to come to fruition. In essence, a planned unit development allows for the city to say the property will only be rezoned if the project is completed, and if it isn’t, the property reverts to its original zoning designation.

Parkview Assisted Living is slated to be constructed at 516 Willow Creek Road, which makes its specific planned unit development designation unique. The land was initially zoned F – Light Manufacturing but the property was already designated a planned unit development for residential purposes for condominium development that was never constructed. The process to revert the property to its original zoning never took place, and the property was already zoned with the special designation when Miron began working with the city’s planning commission.

In other business the council:

— Approved street closures for a series of fundraising events. Specifically, portions of the Ludington Street, the sidewalk along Ludington Street, or portions of sidestreets branching off from Ludington Street will be closed for Classic Car and Bike Nights, scheduled for June 7, July 7, Aug. 11, and Sept. 8; the Fun Run Parade, scheduled for June 4; a bike show, scheduled for July 23; and a fundraiser for Wheelin’ Sportsmen set for Aug. 21.

— Approved hiring Cleary Building Corporation of Escanaba for the construction of an administration building at the wastewater plant. With contingencies, fixtures, furnishings and other costs, the project is expected to cost $506,493.

— Approved the construction of a garage for the city’s two vactor trucks at the wastewater treatment plant for a total estimated cost of $186,240.

— Approved a resolution in support of the Fiscal Year 2022 Federal Appropriations Bill, which is required as part of a community project funding request application from the city.

— Extended the amount of time City Clerk Phil DeMay has to complete his Certified Municipal Clerk training and certification by three years. DeMay has been seeking the certification, which was a term of his contract and hire, but the pandemic canceled many of his trainings and delayed the process.

— Went into closed session to discuss updates on the Teamsters LOA.

— Heard Tall read a resolution declaring June to be Michigan Scleroderma Awareness Month in the City of Escanaba.