“This is historic,” said Oak Park Mayor Marian McClellan before the City Council voted unanimously on Monday to approve the final site plan of a $30 million development project.
Considered to be the largest development project in the history of Oak Park, the project includes building a 300,000 square feet shipping facility on the former Michigan Light Guard Armory property off Greenfield and Eight Mile roads.
City Manager Erik Tungate said the “mammoth” project will bring in up to 400 jobs over the course of several years.
“The development on the back 60 acres of the former armory site is historic,” said Tungate. “Not only does it represent one of the largest economic development projects in the city’s history, it also helps us build momentum to attract other businesses.”
Tungate said the project is a sign that the economic development strategy the city implemented since his arrival in July 2012 is starting to pay off.
He said the recent development will also indirectly raise property values of nearby residential areas.
The plan approved by the council was presented to the city by Scannell Properties, an Indiana-based construction company that boasts of accomplishing big projects including a U.S. District Courthouse in Newport News, Va. and the Chrysler Plant in Twinsburg, Ohio.
Currently, Scannell Properties and city officials are not releasing the name of the facility that will be operating inside the new building in Oak Park.
A call to Scannell Properties seeking comments on the project has not been returned.
Based on initial estimates, construction will take about 11 months.
