By Robert Mytych
Independent Special Writer
At a July 10 meeting at township hall, Van Buren Township officials and the public came a little closer to knowing just who is the new tech firm that is proposing to occupy a secluded portion of the 75.57 acres that makes up the Harold Smith Farm, located on Michigan Avenue, just west of the Denton Cemetery.
The meeting was supposed to include the site plan for the potential development, but it wasn’t disclosed in the opening statement, citing that it would be released once the land is purchased, which is all contingent on the rezoning, from single family to light industrial.
The second reading for approval on the re-zoning was scheduled to be on the Township’s Board of Trustees agenda at its meeting on July 17. Once approved, the developer is expected to seek preliminary site plan approval from the Township’s planning commission on Aug. 8, at which time he would finally reveal the name of the new tech and research company that will be moving in.
The new company will bring around 30 jobs from another facility and create 100 new jobs during phase one of the development. Once completed, the company would likely house around 200 employees.
A slideshow featuring the same overhead drawing of the property now showed a 70,000 square foot facility on two levels with a building height of 36 feet. A 400-foot buffer zone featuring trees and a 10-foot, tree covered, berm will be built along the property lines and facing neighboring residents.
The slideshow also showed a rendering of the building and how it would appear from various locations outside the property lines. The entrance to the facility will come off of Michigan Avenue and include its own deceleration lane.
Harold Smith, who still lives on the property will remain on his homestead. The entire development will have its own detention pond which would be disbursed through the Wayne County drain system with no impact to the adjoining residential area. In fact, the new system will bring water over that would normally run naturally into the direction of nearby residences. The new facility will not be an autonomous testing facility, according to developers.