City eyes green space on Utica Road

STERLING HEIGHTS — The city is lining up greenbacks for more green space.

On Feb. 17, the City Council approved a $770,000 purchase agreement for nearly 14 acres of vacant wooded land on Utica Road, just west of Hayes.

The acquisition stems from the Pathway to Play and Preservation millage Sterling Heights voters passed in 2024. The goal of the millage was, in part, to conserve natural resources.

The property, totaling 13.756 acres, is located across the road from Rotary Park “and is strategically positioned to support the city’s ongoing natural area preservation efforts,” according to background information supplied by the Sterling Heights City Development department. The property includes roughly 1,000 feet of frontage along Utica Road.

The purchase agreement is with the Six Rivers Land Conservancy, which will hold the land while the city seeks a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to offset some of the acquisition cost.

The grant would cover 70% of the property’s purchase price, meaning that the city would pay $230,000 for the land, plus interest to the land conservancy while it holds the property. In a separate but related action, the City Council set a March 17 public hearing for the land acquisition grant. In meeting agenda materials, the Utica Road property was described as creating “a green space entryway into the city.”

Although a couple of residents who spoke at the meeting expressed concern about the city possibly selling the property to a private developer in the future, officials said the intent of green space acquisition under the millage is preservation. Furthermore, if the city is successful in obtaining state grant money, the land will be park property in perpetuity.

Kyle Langlois, the city’s parks and recreation director, said the property, commonly known as 37217 Utica Road, is a great fit for adding to the community’s green space inventory and complementing existing amenities.

“This purchase specifically is created to preserve this land,” he said. “There is some great benefit being that it is across from Rotary Park where we’re already developing a great park and working toward that end, but also we have property to the south, over at 16 Mile Road. We know that the Freedom Trail runs along Metropolitan Parkway so there’s some great opportunities for connections. So this parcel has a lot of relevance, a lot of trees. There is the waterway that runs through as well so there is some great natural resource protection that we also want to provide with this land.”

Langlois said the city works with the Six Rivers Land Conservancy to lock up the land while it pursues the state grant, the outcome of which won’t be known until December and won’t be official until the Michigan Legislature adopts its budget in 2027. He described the grant process as “long and arduous.”

“No grant is ever guaranteed, which we know, but our friends at the DNR did share that this was a good piece of property for us to apply for,” he said. “They recognize the importance of the trees and the natural resources that we’re looking to protect.”

Langlois acknowledged there is a facilitation fee for the land conservancy to hold the property that is outside the $770,000 purchase price. A representative from Six Rivers Land Conservancy said that cost is $9,750, the second half of which is due at closing, which is to occur on or before Sept. 1, 2028.

City Council members said Sterling Heights is getting a good deal on the property.

“I’m very happy that we got this,” Councilman Mike Radtke said. “I think we got it at a very good price because from what I remember, it was listed at over a million dollars. At $770,000, that’s a considerable savings.”

Councilman Henry Yanez, who lives nearby the property, said he’s walked the site and has long favored the city attaining it.

“This is a great piece of property. It is very natural,” he said. “You almost don’t feel like you’re in Sterling Heights when you’re standing back there.”