Eight new apartments will soon be available for rent at 42 Union St. according to general contractor and landlord Marty Hubbard, which she hopes will compete with on-campus housing for Hillsdale College students next fall.
Hubbard is renovating an approximately 100-year-old fur coat factory with a $785,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Projected to be finished mid-August, the three-story building will contain a retail store on the first floor and four apartments each on the second and third floors. Hubbard has not specified what kind of retail will be on the first floor.
Each apartment will have three bedrooms and one bathroom and will be equipped with a refrigerator and stove. A laundry room will be in the building for all tenants to use.
Hubbard says she is familiar with student housing around Hillsdale because she’s had three children graduate from Hillsdale College. She believes she can compete in the local housing market by coupling good service with quality housing.
“I think it’s good for the soul to live in a clean, dry, brightly-lit, well-functioning place,” Hubbard said, “That’s what I’ve always given my tenants. I’ve rented to plenty of professors, staff and students and I definitely make it my priority if something breaks down, they don’t wait more than 24 hours for things to be fixed and made right.”
City Manager David Mackie is optimistic Hubbard’s new business will succeed.
“We view this project as an example to show others that you can own property downtown and that there is a market for these things,” Mackie said. “It will make the downtown much more appealing for business.”
Since she bought the factory in October 2012, Hubbard has planned on turning it into an apartment building. However, the funds needed to restore the factory exceeded what she could personally commit.
According to Hillsdale’s zoning administrator, Alan Beeker, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority was first interested in funding the project because of the building’s historical value.
“It’s an early example of concrete construction and it was built before the 1930s,” Beeker said. “It contributes to the historical fabric of Hillsdale.”
While MSHDA did not fund Hubbard because the building sits too close to a railroad track, the MEDC showed interest because the building is historical and within walking distance of Hillsdale’s downtown.
According to Beeker, Hubbard was able to secure funding from the MEDC in the form of a community development block grant by agreeing to turn the factory into a dual purpose building.
“She weathered the storm and jumped through all the hoops and managed to get the check,” Beeker said.
Hubbard is not the only Hillsdale business owner to receive a grant from the MEDC in the past year. The Mar-Vo Mineral Company received MEDC $82,685 grant to transform the empty F.W. Stock and Sons mill into a mineral factory that opened in January.
In return for MEDC assistance, Hubbard is responsible for meeting certain standards, mostly environmental, according to an agreement between her and the state of Michigan. Failing to meet those standards will require Hubbard to repay the $785,000 MEDC grant.
