Rezoned property from which Handy Township’s special-assessment debt stems has drawn interest from a developer seeking to create an “environmentally friendly” industrial park with an “energy component,” Township Supervisor Hank Vaupel said.
The Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted to approve a purchase agreement with Green Grid LLC for more than 200 acres off Grand River Avenue, 2 miles west of the village of Fowlerville. Rezoning of the property from residential to general industrial use drew steep opposition from residents in July.
Vaupel declined to give many specifics on the purchase agreement, including the dollar value, pending ongoing negotiations, including an addendum drafted Tuesday by the township that has yet to be approved by the developer.
The land’s close proximity to rail service drew interest from the developer, which plans to work with a “major university” on an undisclosed energy component, Vaupel said. He was not aware of the partner university.
“We really feel this will be a beneficial project for residents of Livingston County and Handy Township,” he said.
The property was initially planned to be home to the equivalent of 240 houses in a Mitch Harris development. Township officials are hopeful the sale will bring the municipality closer to retiring its $3.2 million outstanding debt owed to the county, after the developer defaulted on the special assessments.
Also on Tuesday, the township tabled a request from residents Jeff and Sandra Kassab to purchase more than 3 acres of the property for nearly $19,000 to serve as a “buffer or green zone” in the wake of the zoning change.
“We were looking to sell the whole thing,” Vaupel said of the property.
Jeff Kassab said he understands it was easier for the township to sell the land as a whole, though he still hopes to get a piece of the property. He plans to work with Fred Dillingham of Livingston Business Development Associates in an effort to make it happen.
Source: MEDC
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