Grand Sakwa Cooking Up Plan for GM Property

WARREN, MI-The city council has been mulling plans for a planned unit development by General Motors for a vacant 312-acre parcel near its Technical Center in the city. The automaker is working with Grand Sakwa to create the largest mixed-use development in the city in recentdecades.

When completed, GM envisions a housing and commerce area that would appeal to the approximately 20,000 who work at the Technical Center. The property across from the GM Technical Center is considered valuable because of its size and location, including the proximity to freeways, Fortune 500 companies and auto suppliers. Some estimates suggest the land could be worth about $300,000 an acre.

GM tightly guarded its plans for the property for years, after the city’s plan for upscale homes and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course collapsed in 1994 before groundbreaking. In 2001, the automaker hired a Pittsburgh-based planning firm to recommend the best use for the parcel. Its conclusion: a pedestrian-friendly town center development with downtown shopping and homes close to restaurants, bars and shops. The company, Urban Design Associates, pointed to the commerce of Royal Oak and Birmingham as examples.