Olivieri Management planning to re-build two more houses, waiting on planning commission approval

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Olivieri Management is planning to continue changing the face of Mount Pleasant by rebuilding two properties near campus.

If approved by the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission, the homes would be built to be occupied by registered student organizations, with 221 W. Clayton St. housing up to six occupants and 1003 Douglas St. housing up to 12.

A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on March 1 at City Hall to discuss the properties.

By the end of summer 2013 Olivieri Management will have brought 12 homes up to modern standards, said Joe Olivieri, developer and builder at Olivieri Management.

“These old buildings have a lot of deficiencies,” he said.

In the past, six people have shared a bathroom, but new additions will allow two tenants to share one bathroom, Olivieri said.

The three homes rebuilt in 2011 are now all occupied by students and the residences are rented out before construction is finished, Olivieri said.

The construction takes about three months, but is dependent on the weather, Olivieri said.

“We would rather have frozen ground than mud and rain,” he said.

Olivieri said one of the houses rebuilt, 1007 Main St., was 124 years old and had outlived its usefulness.

“The new homes are much better from a fire safety standpoint than the others,” Olivieri said.

He said some of the new furnaces have a 95 percent energy efficiency rate. The city has been working closely with Olivieri Management on the projects.

Downtown Development Director, Michelle Sponseller, supports the project.

“I think they are doing a great deal of good visually,” Sponseller said. “I hope they do more.”

The rebuilt homes include finishing of basements, a parking spot for each tenant and cable jacks in every room.

“We have installed central air which is a nice amenity,” Olivieri said.

Sod and underground sprinklers have also been installed at the new locations.

The city of Mount Pleasant has been providing suggestions and involved in deciding how the buildings should fit into their streets.

“That’s been one of our goals, to make it fit right in,” Olivieri said.

Olivieri said the city deserves a lot of credit for their involvement.

“I feel like the tenants like these places better,” Oliveri said. “They take better care of these places.”