A commercial building at 62 W. Chicago Street that has sat mostly empty for five years is headed for a major overhaul after the Coldwater City Council approved a 12-year property tax exemption for the project this week. The one-story structure, built in 1977 as the former Deans Insurance building and featuring a partially finished basement, will be transformed into updated commercial space under a plan from Tau Ceti Extraction LLC.
The council approved the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act exemption for Tau Ceti Extraction LLC's 3,600-square-foot property at its October 27 regular meeting, according to WTVB. Alongside the exemption, council members passed Resolution No. 26-123 and approved a statement of obsolescence for the downtown structure. The OPRA tax break itself is set to run from December 31, 2026, through December 30, 2038, a 12-year span meant to encourage the rehabilitation of a building city officials have described as functionally outdated.
The project traces back to a recommendation from the city's OPRA Review Committee, which the station's report says led the council to vote in favor of moving the revitalization plan forward earlier in the month. That same report described the building as mostly vacant and functionally obsolete, pointing to an outdated flat tar roof, inadequate layout, a lack of ADA compliance, and deficient electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. According to city assessments cited in that coverage, the building carries more than 50 percent functional obsolescence.
Renovation Plans Include New Second Floor
Tau Ceti Extraction LLC plans to transform the building's existing office spaces, kitchenette and large open workspace into updated, fully compliant commercial space, per the same account. A newly constructed second floor is planned to house a doctor's office alongside two additional tenant spaces, giving the long-dormant property new commercial life once the work wraps up.
Coldwater City Assessor Samantha Albright said the renovations will be extensive and transformative for downtown, according to the dossier's reporting. The project is also projected to support roughly 15 permanent jobs once construction is finished, on top of construction jobs generated during the rehabilitation itself.
Estimates of the project's overall cost have varied between the two WTVB reports on the development. An earlier account described it as a $1.85 million renovation, while the more recent report on the council's approval put the Tau Ceti Extraction LLC rehabilitation project's value at $3.5 million. Neither figure has been reconciled in available reporting.
Construction Timeline and State Review
Rehabilitation construction is slated to begin in June 2027 and reach completion by March 2028, according to WTVB's report on the council's vote. The earlier WTVB report also noted that the proposed 12-year OPRA tax-abatement certificate was subject to final state approval, though that status has not been independently confirmed in subsequent coverage.
Under Michigan's OPRA statute, local approval is only part of the process — per the Michigan Legislature, the relevant state commission must still issue the exemption certificate after a local legislative body signs off. The City of Coldwater notes that OPRA exemptions can run for terms of one to 12 years for qualifying commercial and commercial-housing properties, with the city determining the length case by case.
The exemption is intended to support the rehabilitation project while boosting commercial activity and local economic development downtown, per WTVB's report on the council's approval. State guidance from the Michigan Department of Treasury outlines that OPRA projects must show a reasonable likelihood of increasing commercial activity or employment, and applicants must affirm the work would not happen without the tax break.
Coldwater's project echoes similar OPRA-driven efforts elsewhere in the state. In January, 9and10news.com reported that Cheboygan was anticipated to receive OPRA support as part of a broader downtown revitalization effort involving five Michigan cities and more than $8.7 million in total capital investment. The report also described a $335,000 state grant and an expected $863,383 capital investment for Cheboygan.
