Graphic: Village of Calumet website Elevation options for a proposed building on the Fifth Street Fire Site.

CALUMET — Calumet Village is seeking additional community input to finalize a concept plan for the downtown Fifth Street Redevelopment project. The first round of community input was received at an open house session held in October.

The online survey explains the purpose of the redevelopment plan is work with the First Site Task Force to provide a vision of the site restored to harmonize with the historic downtown district, based on realistic economic projections.

To gather the desired feedback, the village has posted a redevelopment survey on its website. The survey seeks public thought and comment on two potential concepts for the fire site, which encompasses more than half a block of the village’s historic district from Portland Street south, between 5th and 4th streets, resulting in total loss of structures in May 2021.

The village received a grant from the state to assist in the redevelopment of the site.

Village Manager Megan Haselden said part of the plan included engaging with a firm to develop a concept of what type of property current village residents and business owners might like to see.

Because the site is within the village’s historic district, the village would like the development to be a fairly accurate representation of the historical architecture of the area.

Haselden said the firm selected to spearhead the plan was Beckett and Raeder, a landscape architecture, planning, engineering and environmental services firm headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Haselden said their architects developed two separate concepts for the site, which were shared at an October public engagement meeting.

A Beckett and Raeder architect presented many graphics and illustrations presented at the meeting, at which public feedback was encouraged.

“They are both essentially for four-story buildings,” Haselden said, “with commercial retail spaces down on the first floor.”

“Our idea, with some of the community feedback we have received is having storefronts facing both Fifth Street and Portland Street,” Haselden said. “Above the first floor retail stores would be long-term residential apartments.”

The concepts for both buildings call for L-shaped designs, said Haselden,

“There is a possibility within their plans of having up to 36 apartments in the building.”

The concepts of both buildings are both L-shaped, but one of the buildings splits, where there is a separate two-story building facing Portland Street, with one big, four-story building on Fifth Street.”

“Part of the feedback that we’re looking for is regarding that split of the building,” Haselden said, “whether or not the community has an opinion on if there should be two buildings there or one.”

The online survey includes graphics illustrating options for overall site plans, proposed parking options, and building facades.

The feedback will then be reviewed by Beckett and Raeder with the intent of creating a comprehensive marketing package for potential developers.

While the initial deadline survey was Jan. 9, the closure date has been rescheduled to Jan. 24.

The survey can be found on the Village of Calumet website.