OKEMOS, MICHIGAN - Meridian Township will see new town homes in the community by the end of this summer.

What was originally supposed to be an office building will now be eight 3-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom town homes on Okemos Road near Knob Hill apartments.

The rezoning application for an office building was submitted by Okemos Road, L.L.C. back in 2014. After the application went back and forth between the Meridian Township Planning Commission and Township Board, it was denied rezoning approval for an office building in spring 2015. It was instead approved for a multi-family unit.

Matt Hagan, co-owner of Okemos Road, L.L.C., said his business contemplated whether they wanted to move forward with the multi-family unit and at one point tried selling the business.

Instead, his business chose to move forward with the multi-family unit and applied for a special use permit in mid-2015 and was approved for one in early 2016.

Construction began on the units in March of this year and Hagan thinks they will be an asset to the community.

"I think it will provide a little bit of a niche-market, being that they're town homes as opposed to apartments, or for-sale condos," he said. “Being a little bit of a different product –you’re not going to have people living people above or below—it’s a nice place to live. Something unique to live in.”

Hagan said final calculations for the cost of this project is not yet available and that construction is expected to be complete sometime in August.