Birmingham, Troy

Getting on track

By Terry Oparka
C & G Staff Writer

Troy and Birmingham city leaders meet to discuss planned transit center

TROY/BIRMINGHAM — Although cities must notify neighboring communities about master land use plans they intend to adopt — city planners in Troy and Birmingham have not sat down to talk with one another about planned developments — until now.

The Birmingham Planning Board and the Troy Planning Commission met Sept. 22 at the Birmingham Department of Public Services to discuss the planned transit center in Troy, near Maple and Coolidge.

The site is located on what used to be the Ford Motor Tractor Plant in the Maple Road and Coolidge area. Grand Sakwa developed the property in 2000 as the Midtown Square Condominiums and the Midtown Square Shopping Center.

Grand Sakwa, by consent judgment, will allow the city of Troy to develop a transit center on the 3.5-acre parcel directly behind the retail center. However, if the property is not developed by 2010, control of the land reverts back to the developer.

This past winter, the University of Michigan Design Charrette team, comprised of local design professionals, U-M faculty members, student urban designers, architects, urban planners and landscape architects, put their heads together to create snapshots of possibilities for a new transit center linking Troy and Birmingham to points near and far.

Michelle Hodges, president of the Troy Chamber of Commerce, said the planned transit center would enhance the Troy and Birmingham tax base and could potentially increase property value from between 40 to 200 percent, as documented in other urban areas.

Troy Principal Planner Brent Savidant explained that light rail transit centers, which are in fixed locations, as opposed to bus stops, which change, spur multi-family and retail development.

No official action was taken by either city at the meeting.

“The purpose is to start a dialogue,” Savidant said.  He said the meeting would be a study session where planners would discuss the next steps. Those could include pursuing joint planning initiatives or creating a transit district.

“Things are changing,” said John Tagle, a local architect and Troy planning commissioner who also serves on the board of directors of the Troy Chamber of Commerce. “We’re working very closely with the city of Birmingham (on the planned transit center). That’s a first.”

Tagle said that the Troy and Birmingham chambers of commerce planned to meet in November, also for the first time ever.

Tagle spoke to the League of Women Voters, Troy Area, on Sept. 18 on the status of the transit center. He noted that Detroit Regional Mass Transit recently approved the Troy/Birmingham transit center as part of its master land use plan. The DRMT aims to develop a regional transit plan for southeastern Michigan and secure funding to support it. They will be holding a number of open houses in coming weeks to solicit input from the community: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. At the Gerry Kulick Community Center at 1201 Livernois in Ferndale and 4-7 p.m. Oct. 1 at Freedom Hill County Park at 16 Mile Road and Schoenherr in Sterling Heights.

There have also been recent discussions about the Troy transit center among lawmakers and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, Tagle said.

He said the city of Troy is in the final stages of hiring a project manager to help secure available funding for the venture.

“We will see progress by 2010,” he said, although he couldn’t say what “progress” would be — approved permits or construction starts.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Terry Oparka at toparka@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1054.