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Architectural renderings of the The Browne, on the left, and The Shelby Commons.
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
SHELBY — Excitement is in the air as two large-scale building developments are on the horizon in the Village of Shelby.
Plans for both developments offer rental units and retail space, creating up to 24 new apartments.
“To the best of my knowledge, it has been three generations since anything new from the ground up has been built in Shelby, which is exciting,” said Village Administrator Phil Morse.
Shelby Village Holdings, LLC owns properties where the developments are planned, according to Morse.
OCP photo/This downtown building is scheduled for demolition.
One of the construction projects, The Browne, received village planning commission approval in April, with construction set to begin this month at the corner of Fourth Street and Michigan Avenue next to Deb’s Cafe.
The Browne will be a two-story building, featuring three commercial spaces on the ground floor; eight apartments on the second floor; and a laundry room and storage rooms in the basement level. The estimated cost of the project is over $4 million. It is not known yet how much the rent will cost for the apartments, said Morse. The site plan includes three one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments.
The building is named after Samuel L. Browne, who purchased 40 acres of land along with others in the mid 1800s, that ultimately became the Village of Shelby.
An 18-spot parking lot located behind the building on the other side of the William Field Memorial Hart Montague Trail is also planned, said Morse. The parking lot will be located where an apartment building burned down last winter. Seven additional parking spaces are planned directly behind the building with eight angled parking spaces along Fourth Street, according to the site plan.
Another project in the early planning stages is called The Shelby Commons in the initial rendering, which is a plan for a three-story apartment and retail building to be constructed on Michigan Avenue at Third Street at an estimated cost of $8.5 million. It would also feature retail on the main floor with apartments on the second and third floors, along with a rooftop patio.
OCP photo/This downtown building is scheduled for demolition.
The Shelby Commons has not been submitted to the planning commission yet, said Morse. The plans, the architectural design and even the name are all subject to change, said Morse.
Demolition of the old Rankin Hardware building on the corner of Third Street and Michigan Avenue is scheduled for this month, opening up the space for new construction. Three other aging buildings on that end of Michigan Avenue are also slated for demolition, said Morse.
“The demo permit has been submitted and approved for that site and for the three buildings to the south. That includes what used to be the insurance building, the Witches’ Den and the one next to that. Those are all coming down. Potentially, the brick building behind the insurance building where we currently store police equipment (the old fire department), that is still in negotiation, but that might be included.”
According to the State of Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), the Shelby Village Holdings LLC’s resident agent is Earl Peterson. The LLC formed in 2025 and is in good financial standing. Earl Peterson and his wife Linda are the founders of the thriving Oceana County business, Peterson Farms.
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OCP photo/These downtown buildings are scheduled for demolition.
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OCP photo/This downtown Shelby building, which is the old fire department, could be demolished.
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