Potential 12-year tax break for downtown restaurant approved by Jackson council

Peek Through Time: 151 W. Michigan Ave.

Veritas will be located at the former Daryl's Downtown at 151 W. Michigan Ave. The three-story building was built in 1885. (File photo | Mlive.com) MLive Media GroupMLive Media Group

JACKSON, MI -- A downtown seafood and steak restaurant is expected to open this summer, with the help of a tax break approved by the Jackson City Council to help get the eatery off the ground.

After a public hearing at its March 12 meeting, city council unanimously passed a motion to approve a 12-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act certificate for Downtown Development, LLC.

The group plans to continue developing the former One Five One restaurant, 151 W. Michigan Ave., which closed in 2014. The building was also once home to Daryl’s Downtown restaurant, which closed in 2013, and Otello’s, an Italian restaurant that closed in 1999.

Veritas, a modern American restaurant focusing on seafood, steak, sushi and craft cocktails, is now planned for the space. Consultants for the upcoming restaurant are John Burtka and Justin Dalenberg, owner and executive chef, respectively, of Grand River Brewery, 117 W. Louis Glick Highway.

Veritas won’t necessarily be fine dining, Dalenberg said, but an elevation of the pub food at Grand River Brewery. The rotating menu will feature fresh seafood, dry-aged steaks and seasonal produce, depending on the best produce the chefs can find that week, according to the application.

OPRA prevents property taxes from increasing as improvements are made on the building, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Its purpose is to encourage the redevelopment of obsolete buildings.

OPRAs can be granted for one to 12 years, as determined by the local government. With the certificate, the property taxes of the business will be based on the previous year’s value, prior to rehabilitation.

With the city council’s approval, Downtown Development, LLC’s OPRA application now goes to the State Tax Commission, which will approve or deny the request, according to MEDC.

“My whole part of this is to guide it and make sure it works with the cash flow,” Dalenberg said. “If the OPRA is not granted, the project will not provide the returns necessary for the investors to commit to continuing the project.”

It’s not the first time the city has given a tax break to the space. In 2013, the council forgave an $80,000 Community Development Block Grant loan it gave to Daryl’s Downtown restaurant in 2006. Daryl Hoskins never repaid any of the loan, as his restaurant closed in 2013 before reopening as One Five One.

The building was severely water damaged when purchased, forcing Dalenberg and Burtka to strip it down to bare floors and walls, Dalenberg said.

The OPRA application claims rehabilitation costs of $625,000, but Dalenberg said that’s just for equipment and building fixes and renovation. The total investment is $1.26 million, he said.

The owners also will spend “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to hire more than 40 full-time workers, Dalenberg said.

“To have a restaurant with this kind of concept that isn’t a national business is special," Dalenberg said. "We want to make an iconic downtown restaurant.”

Veritas will conserve some of the building’s historic elements, such as its chandeliers. Besides lounge and dining areas, it will feature a sushi bar and have two event spaces, one with seating for 60 people and another for 300 people on the third floor, according to the application.

“We’re just trying to do what we do at the Grand River Brewery -- be around people and have a good time,” Dalenberg said. “We want to help generate business in downtown.”

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