Burlington, News

Day care, laundry eye former M&I building

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

An empty building on the Burlington’s south side will be filled by the fall, if things go according to plan.

The City of Burlington Plan Commission approved plans for two businesses to occupy the former M&I Bank building at 200 S. Pine St.

The building is being renovated to house both a day care for children ages 0 to 3 and a coin-operated laundry. Village Clean, which is currently across the parking lot at 224 S. Pine St., will relocate.

Owners Michael and Heidi Wiley said they are still finalizing the day care facility, and hope to be open by late fall. The couple closed on the former bank last spring.

While the day care passed with relatively little discussion Tuesday night, the proposed drive-up for laundry drop off and pickup was questioned in terms of fitting into the use of the building.

The plan is to take down the drive-through structures that are separate from the building, but leave a drive-up window that is on the building in place.

Since Tuesday’s approval was for the conditional use application for the day care, it was approved. The site plan application for both businesses was also approved.

 

Other business

The Plan Commission postponed approval of an extension to Cretex Material’s conditional use permit for a month, until City Building Inspector Gregory Guidry has a chance to contact the business owners.

While there are no current complaints against the company, which is on Market Street near a residential neighborhood, concerns were raised by a resident in attendance that the city hadn’t paid enough attention to some of the modifications done to the property.

Guidry then said he had made notes on what had been done, but hadn’t heard back from the owners. While there was nothing, he said, that would indicate denying the permit extension, he wanted a look at what the company was doing in terms of restoring the property after use.

The last time the restoration plan for the company was updated was in 1994. Alderman Tom Vos, who sat in for Mayor Jeannie Hefty on this last item on the agenda, followed by saying that if there are issues, “it’s kind of hard for us to pass (the extension).”

The commission will revisit the extension in March.

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