A commercial building that sat empty for years on Fraser's Utica Road corridor is getting a second life as an HVAC showroom and repair facility, after the city's Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a site plan for the conversion. The building at 32540 Utica Road, once home to a longtime local glass business, will be repainted, refaced, and stripped of its front asphalt to make room for new green space under the approved plan.
The project is the work of Anthony Jennings, owner of AJ's Appliance Repair & HVAC, who holds Michigan HVAC License #7119056 and originally established the company in December 2018, according to the Better Business Bureau. As reported by MLive, the Fraser Planning Commission reviewed the proposal during its regular meeting and voted unanimously to approve the site plan, with the approved changes including architectural and aesthetic improvements meant to reduce blight along the main thoroughfare. The new facility will occupy the entire former building, providing both storage for the company's service vehicles and showroom space for customers.
A Familiar Corner Gets a New Purpose
Longtime Fraser residents will likely recognize the building as the former home of Hallmark Glass, also known as Hallmark Sales & Service, a glass and window installation business that operated in the city since 1958, per Realty.com. Built in 1950 on a 0.16-acre lot, the property spans roughly 2,572 to 3,076 square feet and was listed for sale in October 2025 for $225,000, according to the same listing records. The building has sat vacant and neglected for an extended period, per MLive's reporting, making it one of the more visible empty storefronts along the corridor.
Jennings and his wife plan to remain in their local community rather than relocate their expanding business elsewhere, MLive reports. That decision keeps the company close to home: AJ's Appliance Repair & HVAC currently runs its primary Metro Detroit office less than two miles away at 34346 Utica Road, meaning the project amounts to an expansion within the same commercial strip rather than a move out of town. Beyond its Macomb County headquarters, the company also maintains regional service divisions covering West Michigan, Mid-Michigan, and Traverse City, according to the company's own site.
What Still Needs to Happen Before Construction
The approval comes with conditions. During the August 5 meeting, Fraser City Planner Dan Comer detailed that the conditional preliminary site plan approval requires Jennings to submit final floor plans, a lighting plan, and landscaping details, and to secure required zoning variances before building permits can be issued, according to Citizen Portal. Those administrative conditions will be handled by city staff during the permitting process, and construction is expected to begin only after they are met, per MLive.
The timing lines up with broader changes at City Hall. The site plan approval coincided with Fraser's adoption of an updated citywide zoning ordinance, which took effect July 31, meant to modernize commercial land use standards across the city's corridors, according to the City of Fraser. Separately, the city published requests for proposals in July seeking outside consulting firms to handle both its planning and zoning services and its building department operations, signaling a period of administrative transition just as commercial applications like Jennings's move through the review pipeline.
Utica Road's Ongoing Redevelopment Push
The HVAC conversion is the latest chapter in a corridor that has seen its share of land-use debates. Commercial redevelopment along Utica Road drew close scrutiny earlier this year when a 24-hour Sheetz store opened at 14 Mile and Utica roads in May, following a 5-2 City Council vote that reversed the Planning Commission's initial rejection of the rezoning request, as Hoodline previously reported. That earlier fight illustrates how contentious commercial change along the corridor can get, even as the AJ's Appliance project has moved through the process without the same friction.
Businesses along Utica Road also have a logistical hurdle ahead unrelated to the HVAC project: city officials have announced a complete closure of Utica Road for railroad construction from September 14 through September 20, according to the City of Fraser. For now, though, the approved site plan gives Jennings the green light to move forward with an expansion that officials frame as both a business growth story and a step toward improving the visual appeal of one of Fraser's key commercial strips.
