Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A business in Hamburg Township is moving into a new building following a devastating fire.

A fire destroyed the Carpet Depot warehouse and showroom at 5300 M-36, west of Chilson Road in August of 2021. Half of the structure that contained several businesses suffered smoke and water damage, but the warehouse and showroom were essentially destroyed. A GoFundMe was set up to assist the Hill family, which founded Carpet Depot in 1994, while the insurance claim was pending.

The business will now be relocating to 7878 M-36, which involves the conversion of an existing residential home on the site into a commercial facility.

The Hamburg Township Board granted final site plan approval at its meeting on Tuesday.

Township Planner Scott Pacheco said the site plan review was related to the change of use on the property from residential to commercial. He stated the change of use will convert the existing residential single-family home to a commercial use that will include a retail carpet showroom and office space. It will also include the addition of a new 5,000-square-foot pole barn at the rear of the property for storage.

It was stated there were no comments from the public at a Planning Commission meeting and the project was recommended for approval with nine conditions. Those include some slight changes to landscaping and lighting, and approvals being granted by necessary agencies.

The biggest condition was said to require the applicant to either get ZBA variance approval for the spacing requirement between commercial driveways or amend the project to meet requirements. That hearing will take place next Wednesday.