Great News on 11 Mile Road CDBG money awarded to 11 Mile Road group
JEREMY CARROLL C & G Staff Writer
Published: May 12, 2010
ROYAL OAK - The City Commission allocated $250, 000 of Royal Oak's approximately $2 million in Community Development Block Grant money for façade and sign improvements along 11 Mile Road after a group of business owners recently formed and pushed for improvements to the corridor. Among the funding is $50, 000 for the voluntary removal and purchase of nonconforming signs and $200, 000 in a loan program for improvements to the facades of buildings.
Jim Thienel, owner of Berkley Appliance and Computer in Royal Oak, originally started the group 11 Mile Has It All. He said the sign program was "brilliant." "I'm guessing there will be four or five signs (torn down) in the first year," he said.
"This is a great opportunity to have some progress made on 11 Mile Road." Thienel formed the group in March because he said the city and officials weren't paying attention to the corridor - east and west of the downtown area - that was becoming riddled with empty storefronts.
"This is a perfect use of block grant money," Thienel said about the sign program.
Planner Joseph Murphy said there would be $200, 000 allocated for the façade improvement program, which would allow a business owner to borrow up to $20, 000 for repairs. The business owner would have to match the $20, 000 payment, and they would have five years to pay off the loan.
"For the first three years, the loan would be 0 percent," Murphy said about interest. "The final two years, it would be 3 percent of the balance of the loan." Thienel and the 11 Mile Has It All group had pushed for the façade improvement program to have a grant portion to it, but the Rehabilitation Board of Appeals approved the loan program, which the City Commission in turn unanimously approved.
"We are going to contact all of our members and every business on 11 Mile Road to make sure they are aware of the program," Thienel said.
Commissioner Patricia Capello, who also sits on the Rehabilitation Board of Appeals, said there was a lot of discussion back and forth on the program.
She was happy how it all turned out.
"It took a lot of cooperation of the members of the committee and everyone that was there," she said about the decision.
Commissioner Chuck Semchena said he liked the loan program, because it's something that will continue on into the future.
"In a time when we are seeing shrinking budgets, a program like this has a chance to be self-sustaining into the future," he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1110.
11 MILE Has It All featured on The Royal Oak Show
Stay tuned for the next episode of The Royal Oak Show, with host Carlo Ginotti, when he interviews 11 Mile Has It All Founder, Jim Thienel! You'll see a super, action packed, 12-minute informative and fun interview, talking about the great efforts to revitalize 11 Mile Road!
SAVE THE DATE AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
The first meeting of 11 Mile Has It All has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 27th at 5:30 PM. It will be held at the Oak Family Restaurant, located at 841 East 11 Mile Road in Royal Oak. Our agenda will be posted on the website soon.
After only thirty days our membership stands at 33 and growing. We believe this is close to or exceeds the Chamber of Commerce membership conducting business on 11 Mile Road. Our goal of taking the best ideas from the Downtown Development Association and the Chamber to then apply those techniques to 11 Mile Road has received obvious community and media support. Please visit the website often to check for updates.
In it together
New group promotes businesses along 11 Mile Road corridor
By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer
ROYAL OAK —Jim Thienel, owner of Berkley Appliance and Computer in Royal Oak, often feels like Rodney Dangerfield.
“We don’t get any respect,” he said about himself and his fellow business owners along the portions of 11 Mile Road just west and east of downtown Royal Oak. “We are not glitzy, or glamorous or progressive. But it’s family friendly down here. Eleven Mile Road is where you go for everyday service.”
Thienel, who has owned the business at 923 E. 11 Mile Road for more than 30 years, started a group called 11 Mile Has It All after seeing a need for an organization that specially looks out for the goals of 11 Mile Road businesses.
“The (Downtown Development Authority’s) budget is $250,000 a month, and there isn’t $100 being spent by the city on 11 Mile Road,” he said. “That’s a disparity that I think shows when you go up and down 11 Mile Road.”
The DDA collects tax revenue from the properties in the district, and uses that on projects or promotions within the district. Outside of a small strip of businesses in the central business district, most of 11 Mile Road falls outside of the DDA’s parameters.
“There is a specific need here that is not being addressed by anyone else,” Thienel said. “The DDA has done a great job for the businesses they represent. We need the same here.”
Thienel points to the nearly 30 empty storefronts along the road from Woodward Avenue to Stephenson Highway. The road is often considered a gateway into the city because of the exit off of I-75 and the easy accessibility of downtown Royal Oak via Woodward.
Since launching the organization in mid-March, Thienel said they have been gaining one to two members each day, and had 22 members after 15 days. They have set up a Web site, www.11milehasitall.com, which features the member businesses. Many never had a Web presence previously, he said.
“It’s better if we all work together as a family,” said Nick Farraj, owner of the Grecian House, a restaurant at 1018 E. 11 Mile Road. “This way we service the entire neighborhood in one spot. The one hand helps the other hand.”
Ming Wang, owner of Young’s Chinese Food at 921 E. 11 Mile Road, said that in joining the group, this is the first time he’s been online, with a downloadable menu.
“I just want to let more people to know we are here,” he said. “I have customers who tell me they can’t see the sign.”
The signage issue is something Thienel said he also deals with, and often hears similar complaints from other business owners on the strip.
“I’m not sure what the answer is, but I know there is a problem,” he said.
Thienel said the idea of a corridor authority, which works in a similar fashion as a DDA, is something that he is currently studying.
“I’m going back to school,” he said, pointing to a binder full of information on corridor authorities. “It does seem like a viable way to solve some of the issues here.”
Thienel said he wants to work with the city on moving forward with solving problems related to business.
“Instead of an adversarial relationship with the businesses and the city, we think there should be a partnership relationship,” he said.
City Manager Don Johnson said the idea of a corridor authority has been discussed in the past, but in relation to Woodward Avenue, not 11 Mile Road.
“We are always happy to have more input from the business community,” he said.
Johnson said he doesn’t know much about corridor authorities, and said he didn’t have an opinion on the idea of one forming along 11 Mile Road.
“I’m not sure how the (City) Commission would feel about it,” he said, noting that, ultimately, the commission would have a say in that happening or not.
For more information on the group, visit them online at www.11milehasitall.com.
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