Developments coming to Centreville

CENTREVILLE – A commercially and residentially underserved area of Centreville will soon include a new apartment development and a retail development featuring a self-serve laundry facility.

Sturgis resident Justin Rarick, a Centreville native, is behind development of what will eventually be a 54-unit apartment complex on the west end of town. Village Villas of Centreville is situated on the north side of M-86. It required rezoning to allow for the residential component.

Though much further delayed in development, a different and unrelated project has cleared hurdles that will eventually yield a gas station and convenience center, which will also house the laundry facility.

It, too, will be on the north side of the highway, on the property where Finnerman’s Farm & Garden Services was once located.

Rarick said it’s a coincidence the retail project is walking distance from the apartment community he is developing. He noted the two developments will complement one another.

Village Villas is on a 12-acre property owned by his in-laws. Four, single-story buildings are included in the first phase. Rarick said the next phase is to be developed west of the current buildings and features five additional buildings.

In all, the nine buildings will have six units each.

Rarick said Village Villas is the first multi-family development he has overseen. He has previously built single-family houses on Lake Templene and at Island Hills Golf Club.

Interest in Village Villas has been strong, he said. Of the initial 24 units, he said 18 future tenants have put down deposits and are ready to move in.

“We hit a snag with the need for a 12-inch water pipe to come from the north side of M-86 to our property on the south side … currently it’s just a six-inch pipe on the south side,” Rarick said. “Meanwhile, we have two buildings done and continue to work on completing the third and fourth. The village told us their contractor will bring the water line over next week, so at that point our contractors will be ready to connect, pressure-test and make sure the line is chlorinated and ready to go.”

He expects tenants will be moved in by Christmas.

All units are two-bedroom, one-bathroom in design and feature nine-foot ceilings. They are 800 square feet, Rarick said, noting one unit in each building is designed to conform to ADA accessibility.

“We feel we can accommodate just about everyone but large families,” he said. “Single men, single women, older couples, families with two children and families with one child are who would be ideal tenants for this development.”

Village Villas will not come with a washer-dryer tandem, but hookups are in place for tenants who wish to provide their own. Rent is $1,025 a month and includes trash pickup, snow removal and lawn mowing.

Tenants are responsible for electric and water.

Rarick, a 2005 Centreville High School graduate, said the eventual presence of the gas station and laundry facility “is an added bonus.”

Rarick said his in-laws sold a three-acre portion of the Finnerman property to Muhammad Akram, who recently purchased the Marathon station in Colon. In addition, Akram developed the recently opened gas station/service center in White Pigeon on the south side of U.S. 12, just east of U.S. 131.

Centreville Village Clerk Michelle Thibideau said Akram’s impending development will be 4,000-square-feet, a bit smaller than the White Pigeon site but similar in concept.

She said the laundry component was an afterthought to the gas station/convenience store plan. Still, Thibideau said Akram embraced the idea immediately.

“He asked what the village needed and we said it needs a laundry and the other thing we really need is a car wash,” she said. “He didn’t want any part of a car wash but he really liked the idea of adding a laundry.”

Thibideau said Akram indicated he hopes to establish a partnership with Centreville Public Schools and sell Bulldog attire and merchandise for the school and at no additional cost.

She is not aware of a timeframe for the business to open, only speculating it will be at least in 2024. Nonetheless, she said the development has been approved by village officials.

On an unrelated note, Thibideau said the trailer park in Centreville was recently sold. Now known as “Centreville MHB Mobile Home,” the neighborhood recently grew with the addition of new trailers and now features 80 units.

"They really cleaned things up down there, they brought in some dumpsters, cut down some trees, they’re making everybody get everything out of their yard and they rebuilt the driveways,” she said. “It’s exciting to see all these things happening in Centreville because people forget how we don’t collect taxes from so much of what’s in the village – all the county property, the churches and the fairgrounds are all tax-exempt. So, anything that will help bring tax revenue to the village is welcomed.”

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Developments coming to Centreville