VBT planners give preliminary OKs for Ashley Capital project

Ashley Capital has owned more than 150 acres at the northwest corner of Haggerty and Ecorse roads for 20 years and it’s finally moving forward to construct 1.5 million square feet of warehouses and office space to lease.
Ashley Capital has 17 of the 40 top industrial leases in Southeastern Michigan according to Crain’s Detroit Business of April 22, including facilities in Van Buren Township, Romulus, Livonia, Warren, Brownstown Township, and Lake Orion.
The Crossroads Distribution Center, just to the south of VBT’s new project, includes 276,346 square feet for Ford Motor Co., 190,751 for Rose Moving and Storage, 185,405 for AEL Span, and 179,760 for Fed-Ex Ground Package System.
At the April 24 meeting, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission, after a public hearing, recommended to the township board a special-use permit to construct Ashley Capital Crossroads North Distribution Center, consisting of three buildings totaling 1,579,325 square feet of space.
Vidya Krishnan, planner from McKenna, said the special land use is for the two buildings in the back and the one in front doesn’t need the special approval.
The commission also gave preliminary site plan approval for the whole project.
The last time the proposed project was before the VBT Planning Commission was a year and a half earlier. Problems with traffic was discussed at that time.
Now, Ashley Capital brought a letter from Peter Milenkovich, Wayne County Traffic Engineer, who said the county received a revised Traffic Impact Study for the project on May 15, 2018. He said they reviewed the Traffic Impact Study and the proposed geometrics and it is acceptable with no further comments.
The letter indicated the county was waiting for plans for a traffic signal for the project.
There will be three drives into the project off Ecorse and a traffic signal will be at the westernmost drive. That signal will serve both the new North Distribution Center and the present South Distribution Center.
Sue Farr, 6960 Haggerty Rd., has a home on 1.8 acres which backs up to this new Ashley project. She said Ashley offered her $30,000 for her home and property.
She said when she went out to look at what they were doing behind her home recently, they ordered her off their property and told her, “Van Buren has our back.” She said, obviously, “Van Buren doesn’t have ours.”
Ron Akers, VBT Director of Planning and Economic Development, said he looked into the question about buying property and found the township planning commission has no authority to get involved in interests of two private parties.
Mike Balow, of Ashley Capital, said he’s reached out to buy lots from several of the property owners on Haggerty, along the east side of the project. Some may want to move to greener pastures, he said.
He said he hasn’t done an email or door-knocking campaign. He stressed the value to Ashley Capital is in the land. They don’t need it for the project, but it would be nice to square off the site. He stressed they don’t need the houses.
“Land is land,” he said. “I’m happy to stay after the meeting and talk to residents.” He said he has offered to buy property and allow the resident to stay two years in the house rent-free, paying only the taxes. He said they pay a fair value of the property and, “That’s our approach.”
Balow said people who want to talk to him about it may call him. Commissioner Medina Atchinson asked him to give his phone number now so people watching on cable television could get it. Then she had him repeat it. Balow said he can be reached at (734) 394-1900 (“I’m the only Mike at that number.”) or emailed at [email protected] .
James Johnson, who owns 6720 Haggerty with his sister, said his parents lived there for 40 years. He asked how many of the homes are up for sale there and no one knew.
Planning Commission Chairwoman Carol Thompson said it frustrating for the developer and for the residents and for the township. This big development is at the gate to the township. She said there are legal guidelines to follow and the township has no control over what one private entity offers to another.
“We encourage Ashley Capital to continue to reach out,” Thompson said.
Joe Webb of Webb Engineering said buildings 1, 2, and 3 are on the south side of Ecorse and 4 and 5 will be built on the north side, with building 6 to come within 18 months.
“Once we start building, we’re not stopping,” he said, noting they do not have specific tenants yet.
Several stipulations by the planner and engineer were named in the huge project.
Township Engineering Consultant Dave Potter of Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber, said seven acres of wetlands will be mitigated with 10 acres elsewhere.
Webb said the DEQ said it will have to go through the Mitigation Bank and should be in the Rouge River Watershed or another watershed.
He said they will dig deep enough in their underground stormwater facilities to store two 100-year storms back to back.
Webb said DTE is building a substation on the south side of Ecorse, so that should help with electrical power.
When Thompson asked how they are going to control who uses which driveway, Webb said they will post “no-trucks” on the one drive for controlled access. He said, actually, truckers drive wherever they want to go.
He said eastbound trucks will make left turns into the facility.
Farr asked why Wayne County wasn’t fixing Haggerty Road, which has fallen into such disrepair that semis are driving on the dirt along the road to get out of the broken roadway.
Akers said Wayne County was going to mill down Haggerty between Tyler and Van Born and resurface it last year, but then there was a strike. He said that is still on the schedule for this year.
Farr said she can’t believe Wayne County didn’t require Ashley Capital to widen the Ecorse roadway in front of the huge warehouse complex.
Thompson asked Akers to pass on the commission’s concerns to the county.
In other business at the April 24 meeting, the commission:
• Recommended to the township board the rezoning of property at 1123 Savage Road from M-1, Light Industrial, to R1-B, Single Family Residential, for Carl G. Speaks, who is trying to sell his property that contains a home but the buyer cannot get a bank mortgage because the use of the property and the zoning do not agree; and
• Approved an amendment to the Country Walk site plan for revised single-family architectural elevations. Country Walk is located on the east side of Martinsville Road, north of Savage Road.