PvtStash
Contributor
hellohello, I plan on diving Monroe often this year as its less than 30 min. from my house, see ya' there. 
Monroe Dive Center - Quarry (MI)
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Does anyone have a basic description of what you will see along the shore dive side?
I did only a couple of dives last year and vis was only about 10 ft then.
What is on the South end?
What is beyond the Plane?
What is off the corner NW corner by the boat launch?
What is north of the boat launch?
I did only a couple of dives last year and vis was only about 10 ft then.
What is on the South end?
What is beyond the Plane?
What is off the corner NW corner by the boat launch?
What is north of the boat launch?
The South end is often the clearest and has a large forested area down to around 30' with a heap of bass. It slopes off pretty gradually and deeper down there's some interesting outcrops.
Beyond the plane? Dunno. Never been past, except when I've been out on the boat to the island, buildings etc (where vis is much better).
The northwest corner is my favourite bit. There's a couple of little boats, a pump house and another large forested bank going from 20' down to about 60'.
You should go for an explore!
Thank you for the response.
I plan on exploring this season, just did not know what to look for and there is basically no info on their web site.
I hope the vis overall is better this year. Last year is was 10 feet or less at the plane. along the wall, and out at the buildings.
However, Monroe is an hour less drive from Flint than either Gilboa or Higgins Lake, so I want to make the best of it this year.
I plan on exploring this season, just did not know what to look for and there is basically no info on their web site.
I hope the vis overall is better this year. Last year is was 10 feet or less at the plane. along the wall, and out at the buildings.
However, Monroe is an hour less drive from Flint than either Gilboa or Higgins Lake, so I want to make the best of it this year.
PvtStash
Contributor
is currently Down...
hopefully its just being Upgraded/Updated and will return soon.
hopefully its just being Upgraded/Updated and will return soon.
Not sure about the website. They are doing work on the quarry that is keeping divers out of the water. I guess they are rebuilding one of the walls or something. Not sure when it is going to open.
Yes. Most inconvenient.
Former quarry attracting attention, questions
by Joshua Kennedy
Evening News staff writer , last modified February 09. 2008 11:38PM
- Evening News file photo MONROE TOWNSHIP - What once was a massive hole in the area soon may be one of the most prestigious developments in all of Monroe County.
The former France Stone quarry off Dunbar Rd. and S. Monroe St. just south of downtown Monroe has undergone many changes in the years since the quarry company mined limestone from its depths.
The 200-plus acre property soon will be home to more than just crystal blue water. Property owner William Gross and Toledo developer Keith Brown are in the midst of converting the rim of the giant inland lake - already a perch for several luxurious homes - into a series of townhomes, condominiums and retail and commercial spaces.
"We're planning to break ground sometime probably in April," said Mr. Gross of Stony Point. "It's going to be really neat. (People who live there) will be able to fish, boat and dive any time they want. The water is so nice and clean and clear."
Mr. Gross in 1998 bought the property from the mining company and was able to see past the massive, mostly empty hole that it was at the time. His vision included filling the cavity and building housing and commercial developments all around it.
He's been working with Monroe Township and the State of Michigan to accomplish the goal for about a decade already, and he estimates at least another five or 10 years before his vision becomes a completed reality.
"We couldn't really do a lot until the water level came up," Mr. Gross said, of the process that's taken years. "It's about as high as it's going to get right now. It was coming up sometimes 10 feet in a year. (In 2006) it came up about 5 feet 1 inch. Last year it only came up about 16 or 18 inches. It's about done."
It's estimated that one inch of water level within the massive quarry equals 75 million gallons of water, Mr. Gross said.
"We've got enough water to supply the City of Monroe."
That amount of water can cause some concern with people not familiar with how the body of water is filling up. And no one knows definitely how high the water will go.
"We don't have an answer for that," says Kathy David, a Jackson-based environmental quality analyst with the DEQ. "The quarry is filling in with ground water. When you dig a hole that deep, it's going to fill in."
Oversight
There has been some confusion in the past over who - or what - has oversight responsibility of what Mr. Gross and company are calling "Quarry Lake."
When Mr. Gross began processing the property for rezoning through the normal channels of planning and zoning in Monroe Township, the township itself was regulating the property under its quarry ordinance.
Quarries, for instance, are required to have fences around their perimeter to prevent unauthorized access. But the State of Michigan has a different set of rules than those of the township.
"Anytime there's a body of water larger than 5 acres it is considered a lake by the DEQ," Mrs. David said. "Whether it is man-made or it's the result of a quarrying operation that's since been abandoned, it is classified a lake - period."
Because the state has determined that the quarry is now a lake, the property falls under different rules of development.
"Our ordinance doesn't differentiate between Lake Erie or that," said Kim Fortner, Monroe Township's zoning officer.
But the ordinance also doesn't regulate water level. Neither does the state.
"We don't regulate lake levels," Mrs. David said. "The DEQ has no jurisdiction over the level of that body of water."
Rather, Mr. Gross and the residents around the lake will be charged with determining how high they want the water to get, she said. DEQ code section 307 deals with inland lakes and it specifies that only operations done beneath the lake's "Ordinary high water mark" will be regulated by the state agency.
"In this case, because the quarry isn't done filling in we're not sure what the ordinary high water mark is," Mrs. David said. "But the property owner could set some sort of designed level. They could say 'We want the water to stop filling in at this point.'
"And then they would need to create some sort of outflow and in this case that would be into the nearby Plum Creek," she said.
Mr. Gross does expect to build an outflow pipe with some sort of check valve to prevent water backing into the lake, but this is at the bottom of a hefty list of objectives yet to be accomplished.
Property designations
In the meantime, Mr. Gross and Mr. Brown continue to submit plans and documents to the township in hopes of maximizing available land use. When he purchased the property, it was zoned light industrial.
Mr. Gross a few years ago began the process of rezoning by acquiring the necessary approvals to rezone the corner of the property nearest the intersection of Hull and Dunbar Rds. to C-3 commercial.
"It's only been recently that they've begun seeking R-3," said Mrs. Fortner of the township's zoning department. "The first piece, 4.44 acres, which was approved Nov. 20, 2007, (was rezoned) from R-2 single-family residential to R-3 multi-family residential, is along the west side of the property near Hull and LaPlaisance.
"A more recent one was for 4.136 acres on Dunbar Rd. west of LaPlaisance Rd. that was rezoned from R-2 to R-3," Mrs. Fortner said. "That one was approved Jan. 22."
The project has needed - and in some cases still seeks - several variances to accommodate the development Mr. Brown and Mr. Gross are working toward. Sideyard setback and each home's distance from the lake itself are just a few of the matters that they have pleaded before the township's zoning board of appeals (ZBA).
"They went for five different variances," at a September ZBA meeting, Mrs. Fortner said.
One request was for a variance on required frontage and acreage requirements on two adjoining, but separate, properties. The township's requirement - for an R-3 zoned property - is 400 feet of frontage and at least 4 acres.
One of the properties had the 400 feet, but lacked the acreage, while the other has the acreage and not the frontage. The ZBA denied the request and recommended that the parcels be combined. If the combination is approved, the variances won't be needed.
Another variance requested was to have a 20-foot setback from the lake's edge. Township zoning rules call for a 50-foot setback - although several of the homes already constructed have 40-foot setbacks.
"The newer houses only needed a 40-foot setback because it was a quarry" when they were constructed, Mrs. Fortner said. "Then the DEQ changed the qualifier to lake."
Besides the 30-foot variance request, Mr. Gross most recently sought a 12-foot variance for lakefront setback, which also was denied by the ZBA.
The project has been granted variances for sideyard setbacks -or the distance between buildings. And the process is sure to continue, though both township officials and Mr. Gross seem confident the criteria slowly are being met to complete the development.
"Nothing is ever easy," Mr. Gross said. "For the last year I've been waiting on a permit for a seawall."
He'd begun construction on a 1,500-foot seawall to protect an area of the quarry from erosion when the DEQ changed the property designation from quarry to lake.
"I was allowed to build the seawall before, but then they changed it to a lake. That stopped me from doing anything. We're still three or four weeks away from getting that permit," Mr. Gross said. "Nothing is ever easy."
The plans
"We're not the exclusive developer because Bill Gross, the owner, still retains control of maybe 10 different parcels around the lake," says Keith Brown of Toledo-based Waterfront Development. "But we are under contract to purchase the majority of the quarry.
"We'll be buying that in a multiple of closings starting first in April."
Waterfront Development is a partnership between Mr. Brown and his partner Jeff Savage. Their company takes undeveloped waterfront property and seeks to maximize its land use.
"This property has a unique location with commercial and existing retail already mixed with residential around it," Mr. Brown said. "We're going to build mostly condos."
The housing will start at $155,000 for a 1,100-square-foot condominium. There also are higher-end, 1,400-square-foot condominiums that will start around $175,000.
"Those prices are so reasonable for the view," says Carrie Cartwright, co-owner and co-broker at Century 21 All-Star, which is the exclusive Realtor agency for Quarry Lake. "They're going to have spectacular views. Anywhere else, that would cost a lot more money.
"And it's in a great location for people working in Ann Arbor, Detroit or Toledo."
The plans so far are to build about 100 units in as many as 10 different phases of construction, Mr. Brown said, adding that the residential portions will be developed first. But there are also plans to build a host of retail and commercial properties along S. Dixie Hwy. at Dunbar Rd.
"I can see restaurants there so that people who live there can hop in their boat and sail across to dinner," he said. "We're only going to allow pontoon boats and little fishing boats. We'll control the horsepower and we'll encourage electric engines. We're going to keep it quiet. We don't want any jet skis or any of that.
"We want people to enjoy it there. Of course windsurfing and sailing will be encouraged."
A few years ago, Mr. Gross stocked the lake with walleye and he says there was already a fairly healthy bass population.
"There's lots of bass in there. And I put in some walleye. Now those walleye are like 24 inches. We catch them and put them back. When they start spawning in three or four years, there'll be all the walleye you want in there."
Mrs. Cartwright and her partner, Savina DeLuca, are marketing the property as far away as Bloomfield Hills. They're looking for soon-to-be empty nesters and first-time homebuyers and everything in between.
"I think it could be a beautiful mix of people," Mrs. Cartwright said. "We have a lot of people interested. Some are close to retirement and some are first-time buyers. But there are a lot of different people."
For more information visit www.www.monroequarry.com
by Joshua Kennedy
Evening News staff writer , last modified February 09. 2008 11:38PM
- Evening News file photo MONROE TOWNSHIP - What once was a massive hole in the area soon may be one of the most prestigious developments in all of Monroe County.
The former France Stone quarry off Dunbar Rd. and S. Monroe St. just south of downtown Monroe has undergone many changes in the years since the quarry company mined limestone from its depths.
The 200-plus acre property soon will be home to more than just crystal blue water. Property owner William Gross and Toledo developer Keith Brown are in the midst of converting the rim of the giant inland lake - already a perch for several luxurious homes - into a series of townhomes, condominiums and retail and commercial spaces.
"We're planning to break ground sometime probably in April," said Mr. Gross of Stony Point. "It's going to be really neat. (People who live there) will be able to fish, boat and dive any time they want. The water is so nice and clean and clear."
Mr. Gross in 1998 bought the property from the mining company and was able to see past the massive, mostly empty hole that it was at the time. His vision included filling the cavity and building housing and commercial developments all around it.
He's been working with Monroe Township and the State of Michigan to accomplish the goal for about a decade already, and he estimates at least another five or 10 years before his vision becomes a completed reality.
"We couldn't really do a lot until the water level came up," Mr. Gross said, of the process that's taken years. "It's about as high as it's going to get right now. It was coming up sometimes 10 feet in a year. (In 2006) it came up about 5 feet 1 inch. Last year it only came up about 16 or 18 inches. It's about done."
It's estimated that one inch of water level within the massive quarry equals 75 million gallons of water, Mr. Gross said.
"We've got enough water to supply the City of Monroe."
That amount of water can cause some concern with people not familiar with how the body of water is filling up. And no one knows definitely how high the water will go.
"We don't have an answer for that," says Kathy David, a Jackson-based environmental quality analyst with the DEQ. "The quarry is filling in with ground water. When you dig a hole that deep, it's going to fill in."
Oversight
There has been some confusion in the past over who - or what - has oversight responsibility of what Mr. Gross and company are calling "Quarry Lake."
When Mr. Gross began processing the property for rezoning through the normal channels of planning and zoning in Monroe Township, the township itself was regulating the property under its quarry ordinance.
Quarries, for instance, are required to have fences around their perimeter to prevent unauthorized access. But the State of Michigan has a different set of rules than those of the township.
"Anytime there's a body of water larger than 5 acres it is considered a lake by the DEQ," Mrs. David said. "Whether it is man-made or it's the result of a quarrying operation that's since been abandoned, it is classified a lake - period."
Because the state has determined that the quarry is now a lake, the property falls under different rules of development.
"Our ordinance doesn't differentiate between Lake Erie or that," said Kim Fortner, Monroe Township's zoning officer.
But the ordinance also doesn't regulate water level. Neither does the state.
"We don't regulate lake levels," Mrs. David said. "The DEQ has no jurisdiction over the level of that body of water."
Rather, Mr. Gross and the residents around the lake will be charged with determining how high they want the water to get, she said. DEQ code section 307 deals with inland lakes and it specifies that only operations done beneath the lake's "Ordinary high water mark" will be regulated by the state agency.
"In this case, because the quarry isn't done filling in we're not sure what the ordinary high water mark is," Mrs. David said. "But the property owner could set some sort of designed level. They could say 'We want the water to stop filling in at this point.'
"And then they would need to create some sort of outflow and in this case that would be into the nearby Plum Creek," she said.
Mr. Gross does expect to build an outflow pipe with some sort of check valve to prevent water backing into the lake, but this is at the bottom of a hefty list of objectives yet to be accomplished.
Property designations
In the meantime, Mr. Gross and Mr. Brown continue to submit plans and documents to the township in hopes of maximizing available land use. When he purchased the property, it was zoned light industrial.
Mr. Gross a few years ago began the process of rezoning by acquiring the necessary approvals to rezone the corner of the property nearest the intersection of Hull and Dunbar Rds. to C-3 commercial.
"It's only been recently that they've begun seeking R-3," said Mrs. Fortner of the township's zoning department. "The first piece, 4.44 acres, which was approved Nov. 20, 2007, (was rezoned) from R-2 single-family residential to R-3 multi-family residential, is along the west side of the property near Hull and LaPlaisance.
"A more recent one was for 4.136 acres on Dunbar Rd. west of LaPlaisance Rd. that was rezoned from R-2 to R-3," Mrs. Fortner said. "That one was approved Jan. 22."
The project has needed - and in some cases still seeks - several variances to accommodate the development Mr. Brown and Mr. Gross are working toward. Sideyard setback and each home's distance from the lake itself are just a few of the matters that they have pleaded before the township's zoning board of appeals (ZBA).
"They went for five different variances," at a September ZBA meeting, Mrs. Fortner said.
One request was for a variance on required frontage and acreage requirements on two adjoining, but separate, properties. The township's requirement - for an R-3 zoned property - is 400 feet of frontage and at least 4 acres.
One of the properties had the 400 feet, but lacked the acreage, while the other has the acreage and not the frontage. The ZBA denied the request and recommended that the parcels be combined. If the combination is approved, the variances won't be needed.
Another variance requested was to have a 20-foot setback from the lake's edge. Township zoning rules call for a 50-foot setback - although several of the homes already constructed have 40-foot setbacks.
"The newer houses only needed a 40-foot setback because it was a quarry" when they were constructed, Mrs. Fortner said. "Then the DEQ changed the qualifier to lake."
Besides the 30-foot variance request, Mr. Gross most recently sought a 12-foot variance for lakefront setback, which also was denied by the ZBA.
The project has been granted variances for sideyard setbacks -or the distance between buildings. And the process is sure to continue, though both township officials and Mr. Gross seem confident the criteria slowly are being met to complete the development.
"Nothing is ever easy," Mr. Gross said. "For the last year I've been waiting on a permit for a seawall."
He'd begun construction on a 1,500-foot seawall to protect an area of the quarry from erosion when the DEQ changed the property designation from quarry to lake.
"I was allowed to build the seawall before, but then they changed it to a lake. That stopped me from doing anything. We're still three or four weeks away from getting that permit," Mr. Gross said. "Nothing is ever easy."
The plans
"We're not the exclusive developer because Bill Gross, the owner, still retains control of maybe 10 different parcels around the lake," says Keith Brown of Toledo-based Waterfront Development. "But we are under contract to purchase the majority of the quarry.
"We'll be buying that in a multiple of closings starting first in April."
Waterfront Development is a partnership between Mr. Brown and his partner Jeff Savage. Their company takes undeveloped waterfront property and seeks to maximize its land use.
"This property has a unique location with commercial and existing retail already mixed with residential around it," Mr. Brown said. "We're going to build mostly condos."
The housing will start at $155,000 for a 1,100-square-foot condominium. There also are higher-end, 1,400-square-foot condominiums that will start around $175,000.
"Those prices are so reasonable for the view," says Carrie Cartwright, co-owner and co-broker at Century 21 All-Star, which is the exclusive Realtor agency for Quarry Lake. "They're going to have spectacular views. Anywhere else, that would cost a lot more money.
"And it's in a great location for people working in Ann Arbor, Detroit or Toledo."
The plans so far are to build about 100 units in as many as 10 different phases of construction, Mr. Brown said, adding that the residential portions will be developed first. But there are also plans to build a host of retail and commercial properties along S. Dixie Hwy. at Dunbar Rd.
"I can see restaurants there so that people who live there can hop in their boat and sail across to dinner," he said. "We're only going to allow pontoon boats and little fishing boats. We'll control the horsepower and we'll encourage electric engines. We're going to keep it quiet. We don't want any jet skis or any of that.
"We want people to enjoy it there. Of course windsurfing and sailing will be encouraged."
A few years ago, Mr. Gross stocked the lake with walleye and he says there was already a fairly healthy bass population.
"There's lots of bass in there. And I put in some walleye. Now those walleye are like 24 inches. We catch them and put them back. When they start spawning in three or four years, there'll be all the walleye you want in there."
Mrs. Cartwright and her partner, Savina DeLuca, are marketing the property as far away as Bloomfield Hills. They're looking for soon-to-be empty nesters and first-time homebuyers and everything in between.
"I think it could be a beautiful mix of people," Mrs. Cartwright said. "We have a lot of people interested. Some are close to retirement and some are first-time buyers. But there are a lot of different people."
For more information visit www.www.monroequarry.com
interesting. Very interesting.
schu1842
Contributor
My son is a graduate student at UM and we were going to dive the quarry this summer.
If the diving is good what a great place to own a condo!!
If the diving is good what a great place to own a condo!!
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