Accessibility Tools

  • Increase text
  • Decrease text
  • High contrast
  • Negative contrast
  • Add grayscale
  • Remove grayscale
  • Add lightbackground
  • Remove lightbackground
  • Reset

Osborn Commons

Last certified on:
Certification level: Gold

Project info

Size83,081 sq ft

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, long wrestled with difficulties including a lack of downtown housing density, blight, abandonment, and the loss of a grocery created a food desert and had become a factor in the attractiveness and convenience of living downtown.

In 2013, Sault Ste. Marie was selected as a priority northern city to be part of a statewide initiative to reinvent the downtown to create a vibrant sense of place where people enjoyed living, working, or relaxing. The development of Osborn Commons, the highest rated LEED commercial property in the city and the entire Upper Peninsula, was a key step in that initiative.

The 65-unit, 4-story Osborn Commons offers:

• 63 affordable units for households at 30% to 80% area median income;

• 2 market rate units;

• Large 1BR, 2BR, and 3BR apartments with units offering 1, 1.5 or 2 bathrooms;

• 7 units with features for those with disabilities;

• Are units are visitable;

• 2 gorgeous community rooms with kitchenettes for resident social events;

• 4th floor outdoor terrace overlooking the St. Mary’s River and the historic Soo Locks;

• Fitness center; • Common laundry;

• Grassy recreation and play area at street level with park benches;

• Onsite neighborhood market on first floor;

Osborn Commons’ LEED Gold certification was the result of many factors:

• Excellent setting in a neighborhood walkable for dining, retail, a major hospital, social services, churches, recreation opportunities, and many job opportunities including at the nearby Soo Locks and Coast Guard facilities. Major renovations of the locks, which are a strategic part of the country’s infrastructure, is in the works.

• Green building methods and components in construction of the 81,629 sq. ft. building. This includes use of local aggregates and materials with recycled content (insulation, drywall) as available; low emissions paint, insulation and other materials; advanced framing; continuous insulation on exterior of building, energy efficient doors, windows, and electric traction elevator.

• ENERGY STAR appliances and LED light fixtures, low flow water fixtures. HVAC system installed and tested by company with ENERGY STAR credentials.

• A city-wide, dial-a-ride service is available for residents who wish to visit locations beyond walking distance. This service also accommodates those residents who use a wheelchair or need other assistance, and was expanded to add more services on weekends for Osborn Commons residents.

Anchoring the 1st floor is a 2,000-SF retail suite that is home to the Market on Osborn, an expansive convenience store selling hot/cold beverages, health foods, snacks, groceries, and household items. A service window gives Osborn Commons residents access without going outside, an important convenience due to the long, cold Northern Michigan winters. The public can access the store through exterior doors with special 15-minute parking that the City granted. The Market on Osborn ended the food desert in the neighborhood.

Living in a secure, comfortable, LEED certified home that is well-maintained and affordable improves the well-being of families, singles, and seniors. Good housing with access to jobs and services decreases stress and improves the quality of lives and health for all family members.

Logging out the application..