GM Cancels Plan for 1,000-Acre Rail Yard After Residents Changed Board's Mind

DETROIT-Strong resident opposition forced the elimination of plans by General MotorsCorp. to build a rail yard in Milan Township. The company wanted to put up a $45-million rail shipping yard distribution center on land owned by Ann Arbor Railroad, and had signed a deal with the company for the development on the 1,000 acres of property along US 23, said GM spokesman Gerry Holmes.

However, the automaker needed the farmland rezoned. “The plan had cleared the township board of trustees, but the residents petitioned it and the plan was defeated in a referendum vote early last year,” Holmes told GlobeSt.com.

The automaker downsized the plans considerably, and were going to bring the project back to the board. However, Holmes said the township board members had caught wind of the change and reversed their thinking on the property.