The Brighton City Council Thursday night unanimously approved a site plan submitted by Dan Cheresko of Cheresko Development for two new downtown buildings.

To make way for the development, an existing building at that location will be razed. Cheresko tells WHMI that he will spare no expense on the buildings, which will include two restaurants, two offices and two loft apartments, plus a courtyard and a pedestrian walkway. The buildings will be 7,000-square-feet each in size Cheresko says the courtyard area – where diners may eat and relax – will have radiant heat bricks to keep the premises warm in colder weather and he may even snow-melt the walkways between the buildings and the front sidewalks, pending city approval. His development company will occupy one second-floor office and he will lease the other.

Cheresko says the two studio apartments will have balconies overlooking the courtyard and he hopes to have live bands play there during the summer months. He also plans on improvements to the alley behind the development, including paying for a new dumpster for Ciao Amici’s Restaurant. Cheresko says the process leading to all the necessary approvals from the city – its planner, code enforcement officer, and the various commissions and boards – has been the smoothest and the most collaborative he’s ever experienced in his years as a builder and developer. City Manager Nate Geinzer echoed comments by City Council Member Jim Bohn in saying the buildings will set a new benchmark for commercial developments in downtown Brighton. Cheresko plans to start construction within four weeks and hopes to have the development completed by August of next year. (TT)