$125-Mil Mixed Use Development Proposed Adjacent to Detroit Metro Airport

ROMULUS, MI-Nemer Property Group Inc. has proposed the development of a $125-million mixed-use development on an 80-acre tract adjacent to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The master planned project, to be known as Vining Park, will include the following:

* 400,000 sf of Class A office space in four, three-story buildings;

* 360,000 sf of high-tech office/research space in eight, single-story buildings;

* 110,000 sf full-service hotel;

* 30,000 sf of retail space; and

* Green space with dense plantings of trees and shrubs and heavily landscaped buffers.

The tract is located adjacent to Detroit Metropolitan Airport at the intersection of I-94 and the new interchange at Vining Road. The site has about 1,200 ft. of frontage on I-94 and is within three miles of I-275.

The site is comprised of two parcels, one 35 acres and the other 45 acres. The parcels are divided by Wick Road, which the city plans to expand to a four- to six-lane boulevard adjacent to the site.

The project is designed to capitalize on the growing economic impact of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the popularity of high-tech office buildings in a campus environment, says Larry Nemer, president of the development firm. This area services the spillover from the crowded markets in Dearborn, I-275 and Ann Arbor at lower rents due to lower land values, he says.

“The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is already the sixth busiest airport in North America. The new Midfield Terminal Project will turn the airport and the surrounding area into a world-class gateway to Detroit and Michigan,” Nemer projects.

This development will have direct access to the new 99-gate terminal, which is more than halfway completed. “We will be working with the city in the next few months to finalize our approvals and we are expecting to break ground in the spring of 2001,” says Nemer.

The project will be developed in phases over a five-year period, and will be similar to other Nemer developments such as Troy Place (750,000 sf) in Troy, and Omni Officentre (300,000 sf) and Galleria Officentre (one million sf) in Southfield–all of which continue to be owned and operated by Nemer Property Group.St. Louis-based Clayco Construction Co. will provide construction services for Vining Park.