173 W. Liberty Street
Kelly Sugg and Alex Bernetich give new life to a blighted, condemned property in Old Village Plymouth through the support of the MEDC Build MI Community Grant
Photo courtesy of Steve Kroodsma/Photo Kroo
As an engineer and an architect by trade, Kelly Sugg and Alex Bernetich aren’t experienced developers, but that didn’t stop them from pursuing a challenging redevelopment project that has kicked off a wave of revitalization in Old Village Plymouth. The couple, who live in Plymouth, consider the community near and dear to their hearts.
When Sugg was looking for office space for his engineering consulting company, GreenPath Design, he found space to purchase and renovate on Liberty Street. As Sugg and Bernetich worked with various contractors and learned the process of renovating the building for the new office space, they had their eyes on another building just down the street at 173 W. Liberty – a blighted, condemned property that would be a much bigger challenge.
“It was never for sale,” said Bernetich. “It had been owned by a family for a long time, and it fell into disrepair. It was condemned. We were in the right place at the right time, met the family and they liked us.”
A hole in the roof had gotten so bad over the years that it caved the second floor into the first floor, which caved into the basement. Three stories of water-laden waste needed to be removed to get inside the door. A tree was growing out of the back of the building.
The cost of redeveloping the blighted property dissuaded other potential developers, but Sugg and Bernetich were young, eager and wanted to make the historic area of Plymouth a better place. They finalized the purchase of the building in July 2022, met with city officials and soon connected with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to get support for the project. Partial demolition was also happening during that period to get the building safe as quickly as possible.
“Thankfully the foundation was good, but we didn’t know that because of the tree and water damage,” said Sugg. “It was the dirtiest job I’ve ever done in my life. We pulled three 30-yard dumpsters’ worth of water-laden waste out of this building.”
The redevelopment of the blighted, condemned property into a 2,000-sq.-ft., mixed-use building was supported by a $250,000 grant from the MEDC through the Build MI Community Grant initiative. This program was created to reactivate underutilized or vacant space into vibrant areas by promoting capital investment into redevelopment projects being taken on by developers and property owners with limited real estate development experience. The initiative assists developers by familiarizing them with the development process to position them to potentially undertake more complex projects in the future.
Construction at 173 W. Liberty began in April 2023 and was completed that October. Bernetich explains that while a historical preservation track wasn’t the right fit for the project, she and Sugg wanted to honor the original building.
“When we bought the building, the façade was not the original façade, so we went and did research at the Plymouth Historical Museum, which is a really wonderful museum for a small town,” Bernetich said. “We did research there and found old photographs of the original structure and used that to influence the design.”
Fellow Plymouth resident Rebecca Nicholson was interested in the possibility and opportunity that could be found at the 173 W. Liberty building. She reached out to Sugg and Bernetich once they took ownership of the building to learn about their redevelopment plans.
“Old Village Plymouth always felt like the perfect fit for our shop’s purpose: to create joyful significance in cooking and entertaining at home,” she said.
Nicholson opened East Elm Kitchen Co. on the street level of 173 W. Liberty in Fall 2023, specializing in kitchen goods, knife sharpening and culinary workshops. Recently celebrating her store’s first anniversary, she says she’s grateful for how the Plymouth community has embraced her and her business.
“As a business owner, I felt so much support from the residents and businesses of Old Village Plymouth along my journey of getting open and throughout our first year of operations,” said Nicholson. “I feel a true responsibility back to this community to ensure we are best serving its interests and hopes as this area continues to grow into the future. Additionally, I have always felt tremendous support from Alex and Kelly that has gone above and beyond their base responsibility as landlords. Given all this, I am so excited for the future of our shop and Old Village Plymouth!”
For the second floor of the redeveloped building, Sugg and Bernetich originally envisioned an event or office space and are actively negotiating renting it out to another entity. After a two-year process of redeveloping 173 W. Liberty, they say they’re encouraged by the increase in activity in Old Village Plymouth – and are proud to play a role in its renaissance.
“It’s fun to be a part of that; I do think this entire area has gotten a lot more traffic,” said Sugg. “There are more things going on, people are excited and there’s an association that’s trying to do more around here. I think people from around here are getting a better quality experience, but it’s also drawing people from around the area to come here, too.”
