Albert El Fresco is Coming Back for Another Season; Proposed Pizza Shop has Hurdles to Approval

The downtown Albert El Fresco area that includes games, seating, live music and more will return this summer, after City Council approved street closures to allow for the space at its Tuesday, March 18 meeting. 

The El Fresco space will be the same size it was last year, extending from the Grove Street and Albert Avenue intersection to just before M.A.C. Avenue. The El Fresco season will also be similar to last year, running from May 5 through Aug. 11. 

Last year, the city responded to requests from some downtown business owners by shrinking the size of EL Fresco to allow for easier access downtown for delivery drivers. This version of El Fresco is about 30% of the size of its previous form. 

The space’s season was also shortened last year to make it easier for Michigan State University students to move into the area in late August. Previously, El Fresco was open until the end of August. 

The smaller layout and shortened season were recommended by city staff, the Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Management Board, Community and Economic Development Specialist Matt Apostle said. 

The decision was once again controversial. As he did last year, Councilmember Erik Altmann motioned to have El Fresco returned to its previous larger size. As was the case last year, Mayor Pro Tem Kerry Ebersole Singh was the only council member to support the motion.

Altmann said he wants the space back to its larger size because of feedback in a survey that showed community support for going back to the previous format. He pointed to a couple of responses showing that many of those surveyed would like El Fresco to be larger. 

Altmann continued to say that he compared survey responses from 2023 to this past year, which showed that more business owners feel negatively about El Fresco and fewer have a positive view of the space. Altmann indicated he believes the waning support is due to the smaller layout. 

Apostle said about 45% of business owners responded “positive” when asked about the smaller layout, and 25% responded “negative.”

Altmann said he believes people like cars being blocked off from a larger area because they pose a safety threat and we have a “loud car problem” that is annoying to residents and visitors.  

“I think this is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask for and the community has told us that they want it,” he said. 

Altmann acknowledged some businesses would be impacted by street closures, and said those businesses would have to adapt. 

However, Councilmember Mark Meadows said that because the survey is voluntary, it does not capture the feelings of the whole community. He also said he has heard support for the smaller layout at Downtown Management Board meetings. 

Mayor George Brookover suggested, as he did last year, that the El Fresco space is not necessary, and that he thinks using city resources to promote some businesses is discriminatory against those that do not see benefits.

“I think at a certain level, this particular placemaking is discriminatory against businesses that don’t get to share in the foot traffic that comes out of the street, up the curb and into the restaurants and bars that are immediately contiguous,” Brookover said. “I continue to hear complaints… from other businesses about how this is effectively discriminating against them because they can’t put tables on their sidewalks, and they can’t have this kind of walk in traffic at events.”

Brookover said that Valley Court Park “cries out” for placemaking, and suggested a space similar to El Fresco could be set up there. 

While Altmann’s motion to bring back the larger El Fresco space failed in a 3-2 vote, a motion to close streets to allow for the smaller layout was approved unanimously. 

Singh motioned to have staff look into options to expand the El Fresco area and season next year, including Valley Court Park as a potential option. This motion also passed unanimously. 

Community and Economic Development Administrator Heather Pope said staff will plan to bring options back in early January for council to consider. 

Hurdles remain for developer to add a new pizza restaurant downtown. 

A request from St. Anne LLC to expand popular downtown sport bar FieldHouse and allow for the construction of a pizza shop in an adjoining vacant suite was once again discussed by council. Council did not approve the proposal at the March 18 meeting, instead sending it back to the Planning Commission to give more feedback. 

A public hearing for the proposal was held last month. At that meeting, representatives for St. Anne LLC explained that the FieldHouse expansion would be used for a special event space, and the pizza restaurant would be open to people of all ages and would not sell alcohol. Members of council, however, raised issues with language in the proposed agreement, saying the language would not hold the business to those terms. 

During public comment, before council discussed the proposal, a representative from St. Anne LLC asked that the decision be delayed to allow for more time to work through the plan with city staff. Council agreed the plan needs work. 

Meadows said a new set of conditions need to be included in the proposal to make sure the expansion does not create problems downtown. He said the new conditions should consider factors like the Newman Lofts apartment complex across the street, as residents have complained about late night noise coming from FieldHouse. He also said a provision allowing people under 21 years old to be at the site after 11 p.m. needs to be looked at.

“At this point in time, we’re pretty much back to the drawing board,” Meadows said. 

Principal Planner Landon Bartley, who recommended the proposal be sent back to the Planning Commission, said it could be on the commission’s agenda as soon as next week.