Construction underway to revive vacant Great Escape building for new storage units - Daily Press & Argus

GENOA TWP. – Construction has begun to transform a long-vacant, blighted indoor family entertainment venue near Howell into something new.
The former The Great Escape Family Fun Center fell into a state of disrepair in the years after the center permanently closed in 2016.
The site of the more than 43,000-square-foot building will become a new self-storage facility later this year.
Genoa Township officials approved plans earlier this year for a climate-controlled indoor commercial storage business with 325 storage units of varying sizes, called Grand River Self-Storage in township documents.
Matt Vetter, president of Brighton-based construction firm Schafer Construction, said Monday that extensive renovations are needed to bring the building, 2630 E. Grand River Ave., back to life.
Vetter said part of the roof has collapsed, letting rain and snow into the building, among other damage.
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“It’s good just to clean up that blight, locally,” he said.
He said his construction firm will complete interior renovations, façade improvements and an improved parking lot.
He expects to complete construction by November.
The family fun center, which operated for about 12 years, featured a Go-Kart track, bumper car basketball, an arcade and other entertainment options. The center also hosted live music, special events and private functions, such as birthday parties.
While it was the site of countless memories for families, the building was in very poor shape when Vetter stepped inside to survey the damage.
“It was in bad shape,” Vetter said. “A fire riser (fire suppression) had exploded and it was flooded, and part of the roof caved in. It was by far the grossest thing I’ve even seen.”
He said there was mold and signs of a rodent infestation.
He said there was also evidence people had trespassed in the vacant building.
So far, Schafer Construction has replaced the roof, is finishing up interior demolition work and abating some hazards, including flooring issues.
A development investment group incorporated in Texas, AJCSV LLC, purchased the building in June, according to Livingston County Register of Deeds records.
Vetter said the ownership group also has ties to California and New Mexico and includes developers who have built residential and commercial projects.
“This is their first foray into the storage business,” he said.
Vetter said demand for storage units is high.
“It’s an incredibly hot market right now. These things are going up everywhere,” he said. “They need very little distance, 2.5 to 5 miles, is the farthest they need to be away from another facility and still be competitive.”
He said growth in residential real estate creates more demand for storage units.
“It speaks to how much junk we have,” Vetter said.
The storage units will range from 5-by-5-foot units to 13-by-18-foot units, with a variety of sizes in between.
Vetter said it will be a mostly unmanned, self-service facility.
“If they want to lease a unit, they can scan a QR code, use an app or website, pick and size, and it will give a door code.”
He said the back lot area will be used as a loading zone.
While the purchase price of the building is not public, according to the county Registrar of Deeds, AJCSV LLC recorded more than $4.4 million in principle mortgage financing.
Genoa Township Planner Kelly VanMarter said township officials are trying to enable new, creative uses of vacant commercial buildings.
“We wrote climate-controlled storage businesses into our commercial district (zoning ordinance) as an option to promote the reuse of our old, big box buildings,” VanMarter told Livingston Daily Monday.
“We wrote a new category into our zoning ordinance and specifically targeted our commercial district to be considered,” for storage businesses, she said. “We’re trying to come up with zoning ordinances that bring creative reuses of vacant buildings.”
She said township officials are working on a master plan that could potentially allow some residential development in commercial districts, including higher-density housing, as the market for retail changes.
Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Eberbach at je*******@li*************.com.