BRIGHTON, Mich. (WXYZ) — Some business owners in downtown Brighton say construction is forcing them to make tough decisions.
7 Action News first told you in May about the Streetscape Project that's making it more difficult for drivers and pedestrians to navigate Main Street.
“I travel from Hartland to come here. This is like everybody’s go-to spot," Tracy Lillemoen said.
She and some friends caught up at Ginopolis Bar-BQ, Friday afternoon. Perhaps, it was for the last time. The business is preparing to close permanently and blames the ongoing construction on Main Street.
“I feel for the businesses. I feel for the people who work down here," Lillemoen said.
The city’s Streetscape Project started in April following a three-month water main replacement. Now crews are renovating, making sidewalks ADA compliant, and modernizing the layout. All are improvements that the Downtown Development Authority said businesses agreed upon.
The last of the work is projected to be completed in November.
“Obviously we don’t wanna leave, but we don’t wanna keep dumping money into something that’s not making any money," restaurant manager Nick Ginopolis told 7 Action News.
After four years on the corner, he said July 31st is last call. Ginopolis said his father’s been in the restaurant business for more than 50 years.
“To see his dream kind of crumble because of something like this, it’s kind of heartbreaking," he said.
Down the street, business for Michelle Letendre is looking up. She opened her new store, Coast on Main, just three weeks ago.
She said she took over a space where the previous business struggled. Letendre also owns the business next door. So, she connected the two shops through an opening in the wall.
She said opening the business is a risk with the ongoing construction project, but said she's in a position to look long-term.
“I chose to open a new store because I’m excited about the future of what’s happening outside with our construction and feel like there’s an opportunity to have a business here in downtown Brighton," Letendre explained.
In a statement to 7 Action News, the DDA said:
As the long-awaited Brighton Streetscape renovation and restoration project nears completion, the City of Brighton and the Brighton DDA wishes to acknowledge the hard work, dedication and effort of all citizens, merchants, professionals and other stakeholders.
A project of this scope and complexity was the result of sustained collaboration among the Brighton City Council, the DDA board, City staff and local merchants over a 5-year period beginning in 2018. As is the case with other municipalities with aging and obsolete public infrastructure, Brighton needed to replace a century-old watermain and other underground utilities, bring its sidewalks into ADA compliance and, in the process, modernize its streetscape to make the City more competitive and aesthetically desirable for businesses and visitors.
Our merchant community had the opportunity to provide, and did provide, tremendous input into the conceptual planning and staging of the Project to help ensure all voices were heard and that best practices were observed to minimize the inevitable disruption with a project of this magnitude. As is the case with similar projects and public infrastructure improvements, there could be no illusion that short term pain and disruption would not result.
The decision to embark on the Project was approved by the DDA after lengthy public input as being in the best long-term interests of our City, its citizens and affected merchants. While it is always more frustrating as a project nears completion than at the outset, our Project is proceeding on time, within budget, and will provide demonstrable long-term gain for Main Street as well as the entire DDA district. We are extremely proud of the concept and results and are already experiencing tremendous interest in future development and business relocation to Brighton.
