YPSILANTI, MI - The Water Street property owned by the city of Ypsilanti could see new construction within a year by a foreign investment company proposing a huge Asian-inspired retail and residential development.

Ypsilanti City Council is holding a public hearing focused on International Village LLC's purchase agreement for the 36-acre Water Street property at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19 in the City Council Chambers, 1 S. Huron St.

Residents are invited to attend and comment on the purchase agreement, which was submitted days ahead of International Village's deadline to communicate if it would go ahead with the development plan.

In May, the firm submitted a Letter of Intent to city officials to secure a 120-day "due diligence" period.

Workers have been on site throughout the summer performing geotechnical and remediation studies of the Water Street property.

The city has had numerous development deals fall through over the years related to Water Street, due in part to contamination of the property. It is now partly occupied by a Family Dollar.

International Village is proposing a $150 to $300 million residential and retail development on the formerly industrial site, where up to 3,000 people including international students, extended-stay and permanent residents would live.

Residential options would range from one to five-bedroom units in four- to five-story apartment buildings.

Documents provided by International Village said foreign direct investment would come through general equity/financing and a program called EB-5.

The EB-5 program is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing entrepreneurs and their families to become eligible for green cards if they make a certain amount of investment in a commercial enterprise or plan to create at least 10 full-time permanent jobs in the country.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services website, the minimum qualifying capital amount for general investment is $1 million, or $500,000 for targeted areas with high unemployment or rural locations.

In August, Ypsilanti voters approved a 2.3 mill proposal related to debt the city took on when it purchased the Water Street property for redevelopment. The city's average payments are around $700,000 per year.

The debt repayment resulted in a $931,589 budget shortfall for Ypsilanti's 2017-2018 city budget, and officials made a decision to cut numerous positions including three police officers and two firefighters.

There were multiple previous attempts to create a millage or city income tax program in order to address the Water Street debt, along with development deals that fell through because of understated contamination at the site.

City Clerk Frances McMullan described Monday's public hearing as "informational" and said residents can view the conceptual ideas for International Village online or contact Beth Ernat, Ypsilanti's director of economic development.

"I think it's good for them to know what is being proposed so they can frame the right questions," McMullan said about the International Village documents.

Ypsilanti residents can also attend a special meeting arranged by the Human Relations Commission at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18 in the City Council Chambers to talk about affordable housing and how the Water Street development could impact housing values and availability.

McMullan said Monday's meeting was requested by the Human Relations Commission.

The commission was created to support "efforts to enhance mutual understanding among the City's culturally diverse residents," the city website said.

"They want to talk about affordable housing and how maybe it could be related to the International Village," McMullan said.

Residents can also submit written comments to the City of Ypsilanti's Planning and Development Department at 1 S. Huron St., Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197.